Trainer on Mt Silver
by Blackwolfhunting
Summary: Deciding he could take on the mysterious trainer on Mt. Silver, Gary goes up and faces the challenge. Only he finds something familiar and strange about the trainer with the legendary Pikachu. A mystery awaits the Viridian Gym Leader. The question left is whether or not he can handle what truth lays with this trainer.
1. Gary's Challenge

Chapter One

Gary's Challenge

There's a rumor…no…a legend. A legend of a powerful trainer upon Mt. Silver. One who has stood upon the mountain for three years. Each trainer that approached him for a battle were quickly sent back down the mountain with a massive defeat for their efforts.

Each trainer that battled this Legend would tell of the tale of a grossly powerful Pokemon that took only one move to knock out their own strongest Pokemon. Each trainer explained that their Pokemon stood no chance, even with a type advantage against the one Pokemon the trainer would call out. And it was always one and the same Pokemon that he sent out to battle.

A Pikachu.

Many didn't believe the story of a Pikachu taking out fully grown and powerfully trained Pokemon, some even mega-evolved and yet still lost, but each trainer that came down from Mt. Silver swore up and down to Arceus that it was true. An Electric type rat took out their Pokemon, all six of their Pokemon, even if they were rock, ground, or grass types.

The stories spread all over the regions of the Pokemon world. Kanto, Hoenn, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos. Champions, Elite Four Members, Gym Leaders, and trainers of all kinds heard of the Legend and many ran towards Mt. Silver to challenge him. All but a dozen handful of people had yet to challenge him while others had ran to battle the Legend.

Now the Gym Leader of Viridian City had set out to battle the trainer of Legends and prove that it was only a person that could be beaten like any one else.

"Alright, Mt. Silver, I'm finally here." Gary oak said as he looked up at the Mountain, his blue sweater was warm but not overly baggy and in fact showed some of his muscles that he had built up from hiking to excavation sights. He wore special pants that were made for Trainers to withstand different types of weather but were flexible than normal pants for movement. He was ready for the blizzard that always roared at the top of Mt. Silver.

"Time to start Climbing." Gary said to himself as he hefted his backpack up further and walked into the first cave that would eventually lead him to a powerful and terrifying Trainer of Legend.

TMS

"Did you hear, Gary Oak went to Mt. Silver to challenge the Legend." An indigo haired woman said at a table with a blonde and pink haired women. "I got a call from one of my friends that live in Viridian City. When she led a few trainers to the gym there to challenge it they found out that Gary wasn't there, he'd gone to Mt. Silver." She explained as she sipped at a Mocha Latte with two shots and half and half.

"Oh Violet! That's like, not good at all! We have to like tell Misty so she can go after him!" The blonde haired one said with a large gasp. "Lily, where is Misty?" She turned to the Pink haired woman.

Lily blinked before pointing towards a door behind her. "I think she's back in the like gym." She said as she stood up with her sisters to go into the gym.

"MISTY!" The blonde haired woman, Daisy, yelled as she led her other two sisters to where an orange haired girl was leant over a large pool that was filled with nothing but water type Pokemon. "You have to stop him! Like, Gary is going to get himself and his Pokemon hurt!" Daisy exclaimed as she came to stand next to Misty while Violet was behind and Lily was on her other side.

Misty blinked as she looked up at her siblings, her long orange hair trailing over one shoulder from her low side ponytail while her yellow long sleeve shirt went well with her white short shorts. "What are you talking about now Daisy, Violet, and Lily? You haven't broken another nail have you?" Misty drawled as she stood up from where a little yellow duck floated in its inner tube happily.  
Lily flailed her arms as she spoke. "Like Gary Oak has totally gone to Mt. Silver!" She exclaimed urgently.

"Yeah, he has totally gone to like challenge the Legendary Trainer!" Violet added in as she held her fisted hands up towards her face, hiding the bottom half of her face. "He's going to totally get slaughtered like when Psyduck tries to swim!"

Misty scowled at the shot to her Psyduck before the information sunk into her mind and she was running towards her room at high speed. "Daisy! Call Tracey and Professor Oak, tell them what Gary's doing! I'm going to head to Mt. Silver and try and catch up to Gary and stop him!" Misty shouted as she grabbed her emergency pack that had all of the items she needed for a rough trip, but also stopped long enough to grab her bright yellow snow jacket and a pair of specialized trainer snow pants that were blue. Then a pit stop to choose which Pokemon she was taking. "Close the gym until I get back."

With that Misty Waterflower disappeared through the doors of the Cerulean Gym.

TMS

Gary panted as he passed by yet another wild Pokemon but smiled as he came to the exit of the cave, knowing that he had finally reached his destination. "Alright, now all I have to do is find this guy and battle, defeat him, and prove that he's just a normal person that can be taken down." Gary said to himself as he exited the cave and out into a blizzard.

Gary quickly shielded his head face and pulled up the collar of his jacket to cover his chin from the biting cold while he looked around. "What a time for a blizzard to hit." The researcher muttered as he moved through the snow, looking for anything to tell him that his target was there somewhere.

The blizzard stopped and Gary blinked as he took in the fact that snow was no longer pounding against his body and hindering his progress. The brunette quickly looked around to see what had caused the sudden stop and found his answer standing next to his target.

Gary smirked as he came to stand about twenty feet from the other teenager. "So you're the so called 'Legendary' Trainer of Mt. Silver?" Gary's eyes racked over the other male's figure. "Don't seem like a Legend if you ask me."

And in some other people's view, they would agree with Gary. The male wore nothing but a red over shirt with white sleeves, a black shirt underneath that, blue jeans with black running shoes, black fingerless gloves, and a red baseball cap with a white bill that covered raven hair. Cold eyes that resembled dried blood was the only thing that Gary found unsettling about this trainer.

Gary reached down to his Pokeball belt and pulled off a Pokeball and enlarged it. "I came to battle you as the Gym leader of Viridian City, Gary Oak." Gary stated as he glanced at the little Pokemon by the other's side that seemed unaffected from stopping the earlier blizzard. "That is if you're not afraid."

In reply the other boy did nothing and instead the little purple Pokemon jumped out between the two, its split tail waving in the air in anticipation. Gary frowned at the response before smirking again and releasing the Pokemon that would be more than a match for the Espeon.

"Um! Umbre! Bre Umbreon!" The Moonlight Pokemon exclaimed as it appeared, instantly switching into battle mode when it saw the Espeon across from it.

"That's right Umbreon, its battle time. Let's start this off with Feint Attack." Gary yelled and the Umbreon quickly disappeared in a flash of black. Gary confidently watched as his Umbreon appeared above the Sun Pokemon but then gasped when Umbreon went through the Espeon and into the snow. "What just happened?" Gary exclaimed as he watched as multiple Espeons appeared around Umbreon, surrounding the Moonlight Pokemon. "Double Team!"

Gary watched as all of the Espeons sprouted out hearts and acted like a cute little Pokemon, the hearts quickly surrounding his dark type and Gary gasped as his Umbreon fell to the Attract. "No way, that Espeon is a female!" Gary gasped before shaking his head. "Umbreon, I know you're attracted to that Espeon but you have to use Shadow Ball!" Gary commanded, hoping that the love for his trainer would override the attraction to the Psychic type.

Umbreon though was too busy staring lovingly at the Espeon and didn't realize that a bright flash of light was emitted from it and struck the Dark type hard, instantly knocking out the in love Pokemon. "That was Dazzling Gleam." Gary muttered dumbstruck as he recalled his Pokemon and looked at the trainer in front of him. "You didn't even say a word and yet your Pokemon was able to battle and win."

The trainer didn't say anything and instead recalled the Espeon and pulled out another Pokeball, releasing a small Seed Pokemon with the familiar green bulb on its back that was slightly darker in color than normal due to the lack of light and cold weather. The Bulbasaur yawned and shook its head as it looked around to see what was happening.

Gary blinked in surprise at the grass type before choosing his next Pokemon, already knowing that even though the Bulbasaur wasn't evolved didn't mean that it was weak. The researcher had learned that lesson more than once before, especially against his long ago rival.

In retaliation to the grass type, Gary released his fire type, Arcanine. Bulbasaur blinked in surprise at the much bigger Pokemon but quickly began to ignore it, as if the huge fire type was of no concern to the Seed Pokemon. Arcanine snarled at the lack of fear in its much smaller opponent but didn't move to attack, instead waiting to see what his trainer wanted him to do. "Arcanine, use Sunny Day." Gary decided and watched as the clouds that had been blocking the sky dispersed and bright warm sunshine shone down on the battlefield. "Even though this could work in his favor I should be able to hit that Bulbasaur hard with a powerful fire attack." Gary thought aloud.

The Bulbasaur meanwhile was smiling as it absorbed the long missed sunshine, the bulb on its back lightening in color as the sun fed it. Gary knew that it would be now or never if he wanted to take that grass type out with one hit. "Arcanine, use Fire Blast!" Gary shouted, praying that all the training that they had done with that move would help the Fire Type land the hit.

Arcanine growled as it gathered power and then opened up its mouth to spew out the most powerful fire attack that headed straight for the little Seed Pokemon. Gary smirked as he saw the attack would hit head on. "Yes, good job Arcanine!"

The Bulbasaur looked up at the attack before glowing lightly and then a torrent of water emitted from in front of it, slamming into the Fire Blast and pushing it back with ease. Arcanine and Gary both watched in astonishment as the Hydro Pump extinguished the fire type attack and then slammed into the Legendary with such force that it was sent flying backwards and slammed into the mountain behind Gary.

The gym leader gulped and looked back towards the cave entrance where Arcanine lay knocked out and unable to continue battling. "Arcanine." Gary whispered as he recalled his Pokemon and looked back at the still sunbathing Bulbasaur. "But how? How did Bulbasaur use Hydro Pump when it's a grass type?" Gary asked as he looked down at his feet, frowning when he saw the water he stood in, made when Sunny Day was put into effect and when Fire Blast was used, causing all of the snow around the battling duo to melt.

Gary's eyes widened when he remembered a single move that the grass type could learn to use the water type move without difficulty. "Nature Power." Gary said as he looked at the red clothed Trainer. "The Bulbasaur used Nature Power and because of all the water surrounding us from the melted snow, it was able to use Hydro Pump." Gary said with disbelief at having forgotten about the normal type move.

The trainer didn't react and instead recalled his Bulbasaur and pulled out another Pokeball. Gary frowned as he realized that the trainer hadn't called the fable Pikachu that every other trainer had faced but had instead faced two different Pokemon that had never been mentioned before. "Why aren't you using the Pikachu?" Gary asked but realized soon that he wasn't going to get an answer. "Whatever." Gary said just as the red trainer released his third Pokemon.

Gary blinked at yet another familiar Pokemon and smiled in nostalgia as he fingered one of his most used Pokeballs and decided that this would be a worthwhile battle. "Alright then old friend, let's show this little guy how a real water type battles!" Gary yelled with a smile as he released his oldest Pokemon, his shellfish Pokemon. "Blastoise!"

"Blas!" the armored turtle yelled as the Tiny Turtle just stared at it with smirk on its face. Blastoise quickly became agitated by that smile and roared at the Squirtle. "Blastoise! Blas blas Toise toise Blastoise!" it raged as it began to stomp its feet in anger.

"Squirt Squirtle, tle Squirtle!" The Pre-evolution stated while putting one clawed paw onto its hip and waving at the much larger Pokemon, as if the Shellfish didn't matter.

"Blastoise!" Blastoise roared in anger and quickly disappeared into its shell and went into a rapid spin that flew straight at the Squirtle with fury.

Gary yelled out in horror as the Rapid spin spun off course and instead slammed into the ground where Blastoise reappeared, obviously very confused with the way it was staggering around. "Swagger, Blastoise is confused!" Gary exclaimed as it turned to the smirking Squirtle. "Darn it! Blastoise! Snap out of it! Listen to my voice and snap out of the confusion! I know you can!" Gary yelled as he talked to his Blastoise, who did listen to his friend and trainer, quickly snapping out of its confusion with a roar. "Alright! Now Power-Up Punch!"

Blastoise did as told with a roar with one clawed fist glowing with energy as it sent it flying at Squirtle's face, only to slam into a shell. "Withdraw! That won't save you! Send it flying Blastoise!" Gary yelled as he threw a fist into the air.

Blastoise roared as it pushed its clawed fist further and sent the Tiny Turtle flying into the air. "That had to have knocked it out!" Gary exclaimed but shouted in surprise as the small shell began to spin. "Rapid Spin, Dodge it Blastoise!" Gary shouted but it was too late as the little shell flew nimbly through the air and straight up into Blastoise's chin, knocking the Shellfish backwards.

"Blastoise?" Gary asked as he walked over to check on his Pokemon, only to find the water type knocked out. Gary sighed as he recalled the Pokemon. "Thanks for the hard work, take a break now." Gary turned towards the trainer again, still unsure of why he wouldn't talk and why He was obviously going out of his norm by battling Gary with all of his Pokemon instead of the one that was always talked about. "Why are you battling me differently than the others?" Gary asked as he watched the other male recalled the Squirtle and pulled out his fourth Pokeball and released it onto the battlefield.

Gary blinked at the rather large bluish black Pokemon that roared as it appeared. "Oh boy." Gary said as he stared up at the Mach Pokemon. "I was not expecting that." Gary stated as he put Blastoise's Pokeball back onto his belt and pulled out another one. "Guess I'll use you now Alakazam!" The Psi Pokemon crossed its spoons and glared at its opponent. "Use Future Sight!"

Alakazam sent the burst of power into the sky where the attack would hit within a set amount of time before looking back at its opponent with a glare. "Now use Light Screen." The flash of a screen came and then disappeared. Gary looked at his fellow trainer but frowned when he saw no change from when Gary had first arrived. "Now Alakazam use Return!"

Alakazam glowed with energy and then flew at the Garchomp, which didn't look phased at the Psi Pokemon coming at it full tilt. "Alakazam and I are exceedingly close, so this attack should be critical if it lands." Gary stated as calmly as he possibly could under the circumstances.

The Garchomp yawned as Alakazam got ever closer but then suddenly it lashed out just as the psychic type got within range. "What just happened?" Gary wondered as his Alakazam flew back at him, almost hitting Gary if the researcher hadn't of reached out and caught the knocked out Pokemon instead. Gary looked up to see a long purple extension of the Dragon types claws. "Shadow Claw, no wonder Alakazam got knocked out so fast, he's weak against ghost types." Gary said as he recalled his Pokemon and waited.

As Gary knew the trainer in red quickly recalled the almost asleep on its feet Garchomp and called out his next Pokemon. Gary gulped as the Flame Pokemon roared as it slammed onto the ground, shaking what seemed like the entire mountain. Not once in all of his life had Gary ever seen a Charizard that was that tall and muscular looking, he had been to Charicific Valley too!

The Charizard spat out a quick torrent of Flame before turning back towards the researcher and glared at him. Gary gulped before pulling out his next Pokemon.

The Drill Pokemon roared as it came out and then glared at the fire type with vicious intense heat. Gary felt sweat fall down the side of his head before looking at the red trainer, the other not even looking like he had broken a sweat and Gary could feel that all of the trainer's Pokemon were the same. Gary gulped again before looking at his growling Nidoking. "Alright Bud, use Ice Beam."

The ground type turned to him in confusion, already knowing that this attack wouldn't do anything to the fire type. "I know but I need you to trust me, just keep it going for as long as you can." Gary said as he pointed at the Charizard. "Use Ice Beam."

Nidoking nodded its head and fired the beam from its mouth. Gary watched as the beam hit and watched in confusion as Charizard allowed the move to slowly consume it fully. "Why didn't it dodge?" Gary questioned before shaking his head and deciding that he wouldn't take a gift ungratefully. "Alright, now use Earth Power at full power."

The Drill Pokemon glowed with a green power as rocks raised into the air and then blasted at the frozen Charizard with rapid speed. The attack connected and soon the Charizard was also incased in a pile of rocks. "Okay, now to make sure it's done for. Earthquake."

The ground shook violently as Nidoking stomp furiously, shaking the ground and damaging any Pokemon that were in the vicinity but also hopefully the buried Fire Type.

Then without preamble a beam of light shot from the sky and slammed into the pile of rocks viciously, causing several of the rocks to tumble to the ground, but still left Charizard buried underneath. "Ha! Future sight from my Alakazam came into play finally." Gary exclaimed happily.

Both the researcher and Ground type waited in hopeful expectation but that soon changed when the temperature seemed to rise. "There's no way that Charizard is still able to battle after all of that!" Gary shouted just as said Charizard exploded from the pile, straight up into the air before diving back at Nidoking covered in blue flames. "Dodge it Nidoking! Don't let Flare Blitz hit you!" Gary shouted but was too late as the Charizard slammed into the purple Pokemon and send it flying.

Nidoking slid pass Gary and the brunette could only watch as Charizard shrugged off the recoil from Flare Blitz. "How can one trainer's Pokemon be so powerful?" Gary said as he turned to look at his knocked out Drill Pokemon. "Get some rest Nidoking." Gary said as he recalled his Pokemon and turned back with his final Pokemon in his hands. "Alright, it all comes down to you Electivire!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon glared at the Charizard before the red trainer recalled it. "Am I finally going to face that Legendary Pikachu then?" Gary asked and waited for a Pokeball to be pulled out…only one wasn't.

TMS

Misty sped down the road in her car, knowing that time was of the essence at the moment. "I can't believe that you would go on your own you damned jerk!" Misty cursed as she swerved around a pickup full of Pidgeys before having to avoid another car with a kid in it. "I told you that I would go as soon as I got a substitute to watch the gym! You bastard I'm going to murder you when I get a hold of you!" Misty growled just as her phone began to ring. "WHAT!"

 _"Whoa, what's got you so mad this time Misty?"_ The voice was familiar and Misty knew in an instant who it was.

"Now is not a good time Brock, Gary has gone and done a stupid like Ash would." Misty spat as she increased her speed even more. "He's gone to Mt. Silver to Challenge the Legend."

The line was silent for a moment before Brock spoke up again. _"How fast exactly are you going right now?"_

The water trainer glanced at the speedometer before replying. "A hundred and fifty."

 _"Don't get caught by the police and don't get yourself killed. When you catch up to Gary give him a smack for me. Call me when you get to Mt. Silver."_ Brock said and was about to hang up when Misty's vicious smirk floated over the line.

"No need, I'm already there. I'll call you when I have Gary underneath my feet." With that she hung up and came to a screeching halt just beneath Mt. Silver. The red head quickly jumped out of her car and took off running towards the cave entrance. "I'm coming for you Gary Oak and when I get you, you are so dead!"

Misty Waterflower quickly disappeared into the first cave of Mt. Silver.

TMS

"Aren't you going to call your Pikachu out?" Gary asked. The red trainer didn't answer as Gary knew but the researcher was surprised when a small smirk appeared on the other's face and he raised one hand into the air and gave a single snap. Gary stood stunned at the first movement he had seen from the other trainer and because of this he wasn't prepared for the thunderbolt that hit the middle of the field with a flash of light, blinding Gary and Electivire for a moment.

Before Gary could get his sight back though a loud thump came from in front of him. "Electivire! Are you okay?" Gary asked but when a reply didn't come the Gym Leader began to fear for his Pokemon. Several moments passed before Gary finally had his sight returned to him and what he saw awed and terrified him greatly.

The Legendary Pikachu sat atop Electivire, smiling as if it belonged there and nothing was wrong with the world at all. Electivire meanwhile was out cold and Gary wasn't even sure what had happened or even how his Pokemon had been taken out in such little time that the flash had blinded him. "Elective, return." Gary said as he recalled his Pokemon, watching as the Pikachu ran back towards the trainer in red and jumped up onto his shoulder, rubbing its cheek against its trainer's happily, getting a small smile from the raven haired male.

Gary smiled at the sight as he walked towards the other and held out his hand. "That was a good battle, even if I hardly got to fight back." Gary said and waited to see if the other would shake his hand or not.

The red trainer looked at the hand for a long time before taking it and shaking it firmly. Gary smiled at this as he shook back. "I'm glad I met you, I've learned a lot about not underestimating others, something I must've forgotten." Gary admitted as his hand was released and he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "The rumors of you being powerful definitely weren't lies either."

The trainer just stared at him while the Pikachu chirped at him happily. Gary smiled and reached out, scratching the Pikachu behind its ears. "A powerful Pokemon for a powerful trainer." Gary replied as he retracted his hand and turned away, beginning to walk away. "I'll be back for a rematch one day!" Gary called as he waved.

Only he didn't get too far from the trainer as a flying blur of Yellow and blue went straight for him. "GARY OAK I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Misty yelled as she tackled the other to the ground and began to strangle him. "I had to learn from my sisters that my boyfriend went up to Mt. Silver without me when he said he'd go with me when I got my break next weekend! Think how pissed off I was when I found this out!" Misty ranted as she continued to strangle the researcher.

Gary gagged and gasped, fighting to get air into his lungs but was saved when a chirp of curiosity came from beside the two of them.

Misty halted as the murder of Gary Oak to stare at the little yellow rodent that stood staring at the two with an amused look in its eyes. "Pikachu." Misty said as she stared for a long moment before turning her head and staring up at the Trainer in red. "Oh, hello there." Misty said as a blush colored her face and she instantly released Gary and stood up off of him.

The trainer didn't react in any way except snapping his fingers, the Pikachu instantly coming to him and jumping up on his shoulder. "I guess you already beat this lame piece of trash that I call my boyfriend?" Misty asked as she struggled to straighten her clothes and hair.

Gary stood up while rubbing his neck, glaring at the red head. "Yeah," he rasped out, "He beat me and soundly. Most of his Pokemon took only one move to knock my team out. I don't even know what his Pikachu did to take out my Electivire." Gary admitted.

Misty nodded her head at this before turning towards the trainer with determination in her eyes. "Since you defeated Gary, I should avenge him, so I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" She stated as she came to stand with hands on her hips and a cocky smirk on her face. "Do you accept?"

The trainer didn't say anything as Gary expected but instead turned to his right and walked off. Misty and Gary blinked in confusion for a long moment.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?" Misty screeched as she ran after the other trainer, Gary following behind her with a sweat drop on his head. "GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!" Misty yelled as she trailed behind the trainer into a cave that was off set from where they had just been and came to a screeching halt.

Gary just about slammed into her but was able to come to a stop as well. Gary blinked as he took in the difference in the cave. "It's warm in here." He said as he looked over Misty's shoulders and into the cave.

"Yeah and not just that." Misty stated as she pointed towards three cave paths. "Which one do you suppose he took?" She questioned as she looked over her shoulder at Gary, who now had his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't know." Gary said as he walked from around the Orange haired girl and towards the further right one and listened with his eyes closed. It was several moments later when he spoke. "This has running water down it, so I'm guessing it must have a stream or something." Gary moved to the next one and listened. "Nothing down this one that I can hear." Gary said and moved on to the furthest left one. "This one has something moving, Pokemon I'm assuming." Gary finished as he opened his eyes and turned to Misty.

Misty nodded her head and looked at each tunnel before deciding on the left one. "It might have his Pokemon in it, which might be what's causing the heat here if he has any fire types." Misty explained as she walked down it, Gary next to her. "So why didn't you wait for me to come with you?"

Gary shrugged his shoulders as he reached over and grabbed one of her hands. "Anxiousness and excitement mostly, but also because I didn't want to look stupid in case I lost, which I did, so I save some face in front of my girlfriend."

Misty giggled as she gave Gary's hand a gentle squeeze. "A year of dating and you still haven't learned that I don't care if you lose or win a battle, I just enjoy watching you battle." She said just as they came to a cavern, smiling at the blush on her boyfriend's face.

"It's not like I don't understand it's just the thought of losing in front of you makes me feel like a bad trainer." Gary said as he looked off to the side.

Misty sighed as she shook her head. "Please, would they make a weak trainer or a bad one a Gym Leader?" She asked and when Gary shook his head she smiled again. "See no problem then."

"ROOOOAAAAR!" Misty and Gary both froze at the roar and turned to the source of the sound, both stiffening at the group of Pokemon glaring at them heatedly. The largest of the bunch being the Charizard, towering over even the normal type Snorlax.

Misty gulped as she began to back up, trying hard not to instigate an attack from the Pokemon. "I think we just found his Pokemon." Misty said as she tried to get Gary to back up with her.

Only Gary wasn't moving as his eyes landed on a single figure among the Pokemon, six Pokeballs in his hands. "I think I know where he went Misty." Gary said as he locked eyes with the Red Trainer. Misty turned towards where Gary was looking and her eyes hardened as she realized where the other trainer had gone as well.

"He got six new Pokemon." Misty stated. "He accepted my Challenge."

TMS

A.N. Hahaha! So Gary got his ass handed to him and Misty is about to take on the Legendary Trainer as well. Let's see how she fairs against such a powerful force like the Red Trainer. Review and tell me what you all thought!

Next Time: Misty's battle begins and news spreads that Gary Oak had gone to Mt. Silver to Challenge the Trainer at the top with the news reaching a certain trainer and catching their interest. More information is spilled as well as past items begin to turn up when thought lost.

I would like everyone to think about some of the authors on Fanfiction that died recently or a while ago. Some of them died in tragic accidents or illnesses and have left stories unfinished or had others finish them for them in memory. I would like everyone reading this to lower their heads, clasp their hands together and pray for those who have been lost. Allow there to be a moment of silence for wherever you, the reader, are and remember not just the writers here on this site but those who have been lost in your life or in tragic events.

Please remember that life is short and that you should love those in your life while you can and show your appreciation for water comes into your life.

Again, thanks to those who have lost their lives for spreading inspiration through their works.


	2. Misty's Challenge

Chapter Two

Misty's Challenge

"Oh I can't believe I'm going to do this again so soon." Brock said as he came to a stop at the base of Mt. Silver. "You better be happy I came to help you Misty or I swear to Arceus and back that I will never help you clean your gym ever again." Brock declared as he grabbed his bag from the passenger seat and climbed out of his car. The brown snow jacket was made of leather and had special Altaria fluff inside to help keep him warm while he wore black specialized trainer snow pants.

The just newly graduated Pokemon Doctor looked up at the mountain and sighed again as he began walking towards the cave entrance. "I can't believe that the two of those gym leaders are stupid enough to challenge the Legend when even someone like Juan and Drake couldn't defeat him." Brock said as he thought about the Sootopolis and Orange Island leaders. "I just hope neither of them have gotten hurt." With that the once Gym Leader walked into the cave entrance with determination.

TMS

The three had gone back to the three splits in the cave and had gone back towards the furthest right one where Gary had heard the running water from before. Misty blinked as she looked at the river that was running from a hole off to the left and then back further down into the cave where it disappeared. "I think he's giving me an advantage." Misty said as she turned and looked at the Red trainer who was further down into the cave, facing the couple, with a Pokeball in his hand.

Gary nodded his head as he looked at Misty. "He's really strong Mist, be careful and plan for the worst case scenario. He's stronger then all of the champions, I'm sure of that." Gary said as he placed a hand on Misty's shoulder. "Be prepared for what will seem like ultimate power."

Misty gulped but nodded her head as she turned to the Red trainer in time to see him release a Pokemon she had seen several times before. The Armor Pokemon gave a loud roar as its long nose flew up into the air in a battle pose. "Why would he use a ground type Pokemon if he obviously knows I use water types?" Misty questioned as she tilted her head.

Gary shrugged as he looked over the obviously well trained and well cared for Pokemon, the tusks were long and obviously sharp. "I don't know but I don't think that's going to matter. I had type advantages and I still lost in one hits." Gary explained calmly. "You'll just have to use whatever Pokemon you have on you."

Misty nodded her head and reached down and plucked a Pokeball off of her belt. "Alright, let's show that the currents of the ocean are never set Politoed." Misty exclaimed as the Frog Pokemon appeared, clapping its hands enthusiastically as another challenge had appeared in front of it. "Let's start with Rain dance." Misty ordered and the Frog Pokemon quickly began to move to a beat only it knew and soon clouds gathered inside of the cave and began to rain. "Now use Surf!" Politoed quickly performed the move, summoning up a large wave and surfing on top of it towards the ground type with more power and speed thanks to rain dance.

Gary nodded his head at the logical choice and watched closely as Donphan suddenly emitted a loud growl that startled the Politoed enough that the large wave shrunk slightly and slowed. Then the Donphan curled up into a ball and held still. "So it used Growl and Defense curl, a simple but effective tactic." Gary stated just as Donphan began to spin rapidly. "He's going into rollout!" Gary shouted as the Ground type headed straight at the large wave. "Is he insane?! He's super weak against water types and heading straight for a wave that size could kill it!"

Gary and Misty could only watch as the Armor Pokemon slammed into the wave and soon engulfed by it. "Why did you do that!?" Misty yelled as she turned towards the Red Trainer, who was stoic as ever. "Your Donphan could be seriously hurt or worse!" She continued to yell until a large splatter of water hit her in the face. "What in the world!"

Gary gaped as he had seen the Donphan emerge from the other side of the wave, coming to a screeching halt just in front of Misty, still rearing to go. "Misty! The Donphan is fine! But I don't think your Politoed is about to be!"

Misty stared at the Donphan as it stomped its feet into the ground, eliciting the attack Earthquake that quickly shook the entire cave and shattering the surf with Politoed hitting the ground hard. It wasn't over yet as Politoed stood up with Misty about to order a command when Donphan slammed into the Frog Pokemon and sent it flying into the cave wall, knocked out.

Misty stared at the Donphan, surprised at how fast it had moved. "What just happened?" Misty asked as she looked at her knocked out Pokemon to the Donphan, who was now shaking water off of its armored hide.

Gary shook his head as he stared at the, most possibly, strongest Donphan he's ever seen, not to mention the largest. "I have no idea." Gary replied.

Misty nodded her head as she recalled her Pokemon and watched as the Red Trainer recalled his and then released his next choice. The long leaf on the head and the large body instantly registered with Misty as the Bayleef smiled towards its trainer before turning back to Misty, glaring and raring for battle. "A grass type, okay, I can do this." Misty said as she pulled out her next Pokemon. "Rage into battle Gyarados!" The Water and Flying type roared before it turned to the Leaf Pokemon with a glare.

Bayleef stared at the Gyarados in surprise before tilting its head and laughing at it. The water type and trainer both reared back in shock before both glared at the grass type. "How dare you laugh at my ferocious Gyarados! It's worked hard on its intimidate and its toughness! You shouldn't laugh you should be scared witless!" Misty screamed as she stomped her foot in frustration at her Pokemon being insulted.

The Bayleef just stuck its tongue out at Misty before throwing its head around enough to release leaves that began to congregate into a whirlwind. "Leaf storm! Gyarados! To the stream and into it!" Misty yelled as she pointed at the moving water that was place inside of the cave. The Atrocious Pokemon quickly did as told and dove into the water to avoid the leaves. Bayleef didn't seem bothered by this move and instead sat done on its haunches and watched the water with a keen eye.

Misty growled as she realized that the Leaf Pokemon was just going to wait for her Pokemon to resurface, which to attack, Gyarados would have to do. "Alright, I'll do this then." Misty thought as she turned towards where her Gyarados was waiting for a command from below the water. "Use Dragon Dance and then move into a Hyper Beam!" Misty ordered, watching as Gyarados quickly began to twist his body, the power of the flying type increasing dramatically before it surged up towards the surface, mouth already glowing with the powerful move.

Only once was the Atrocious Pokemon high into the air did Mist point her finger at the Bayleef. "Fire!" The water type quickly released the hyper beam that tore towards the grass type quickly.

The Bayleef took the hit straight on with a yell of pain, causing Misty to cheer out in happiness. "You actually dealt damage Gyarados! I'm so proud of you!" Misty yelled as her water type smiled at her the best it could.

"Bay! Leef Leef Bayleef!" The cry resounded and caused Misty to stare in shock at the still standing if slightly smoking Grass type. Misty wanted to order another move but was too slow as Bayleef glowed and then it ran with such speed and slammed into Gyarados with frightening power. "Bayleef!" It roared as it stood atop of the knocked out Atrocious Pokemon.

"How did it do that!?" Misty asked as she turned to Gary who was also staring in shock. "What move was that Gary?"

Gary gulped as he went to speak. "That was the move Counter, it inflicts double the damage that Bayleef took from the hyper beam onto Gyarados." He explained as Bayleef was recalled, Misty recalling her Pokemon back as well. "This guy, he's ready for any scenario." Gary said as he looked back at the trainer, blinking as something familiar hit him about the trainer. 'Where have I seen him before?' Gary thought to himself because he was sure of it now, he knew this trainer from somewhere. 'The way he battles is familiar too.'

"Alright! I'm not giving up!" Misty yelled as the Legendary released his next Pokemon, revealing a Pokemon with blue skin and red spikes going down its back. It also had blue spots in an area that was a dull yellow. "A Croconaw!" Misty remembered vividly about the Totodile that that had almost been hers so long ago. Misty scowled before she grabbed her next Pokeball and released the Pokemon from within. "Go and show them your light Lumineon!" Misty yelled as the Neon Pokemon appeared, instantly diving into the river of water.

Gary tilted his head as he saw the reaction that Misty had to the Croconaw. "What's wrong Misty? Is there something about that Croconaw?" The worry was evident in his voice and face.

Misty paused as she thought it over and looked over the Croconaw closely, looking for any particularly mark or scar or trait that the Croconaw had that could tip her off. Moments passed before Misty shook her head. "I don't know what it is but something isn't right here." Misty said as a familiar feeling began to burn up in her chest. She only ever had this feeling a few times in her short life and now she couldn't understand why now, especially with this character. "Gary, I think…I think I know him from somewhere."

As soon as Misty said that the rain summoned by Politoed dispersed.

TMS

"Delia, are you there?" An old voice asked and a knock on an old and peeling door. "I brought some food for you to eat."

There was silence for a long time before the door opened and reveled a Pokemon that looked like a clown. "Mr. Mime, Mime Mime, Mr. Mime." The Barrier Pokemon said with a shake of its head.

Samuel Oak sighed as he looked down at the plate of food in his hands. "She hasn't gotten out of bed today too huh." He said as he walked inside, Mr. Mime right behind him. "What am I supposed to do? I don't know how to help her, especially with this now." Oak stated as he settled the food onto a table that was littered with different pictures.

Professor Oak looked at a picture that had been taken a long time ago, when Gary's parents were alive. It held Gary's Parents and then Oak and Delia standing behind the white fence at the Lab. In front of the lab, both about four years old, was Ash and Gary, with large smiles on their faces. "Oh if things hadn't of gone so bad."

Oak quickly shook his head and then headed towards the stairs, quickly ascending them with olden ease. "Delia, it's me, professor Oak." The Professor said as he came to the mother's door. "Delia I'm coming in." He said when he got no answer.

The room he entered had once been pristine and neat. Now it was one of two rooms that was covered in dust and in disarray with pictures, clothes, personal items, and mementos that were created by childish hands. The glamor that had been decorated with pictures was now on its side with the pictures all over the floor and some even torn to pieces.

The woman he was looking for was laying on her side, facing towards her window with her back to the Professor, her blankets pulled up to her mid chest. Her hair was almost pure white now and Professor Oak knew that if he looked at her face it would have premature wrinkles that didn't belong on a woman her age. She was also extremely underweight, to the point where the researcher considered having her put into a psych ward at the hospital or moving her in with him, just so he could keep an eye on her.

"Delia, come and eat something, I'm sure he would want you to keep going." He said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come now my dear, it will only get better if you try and make it better."

Delia quickly shrugged the hand off weakly. "It'll never get better." She whispered as her hand held onto a picture of two males that looked greatly similar. "I've lost them both, it'll never be better."

Professor Oak looked at the once vibrant woman sorrowfully before he turned and left the room and then the house entirely. He only stopped outside of the house long enough to look up at the sky hopefully. "Ash, please come home. Your mother needs you." With that the professor left the Ketchum house with only a small flame of hope left.

TMS

Gary blinked as he looked at Misty and then the red trainer with a scrutinizing look. "Are you sure? I'm not even sure if I've ever seen him myself." Gary said as he turned back to his girlfriend with a curious and thoughtful look. "Though I will admit, he does have a familiar feeling to him."

Misty nodded her head as she turned towards her Lumineon. "That's what I'm getting, something about him, an aura or feeling, is similar to someone I know or knew." Misty said. "Lumineon, Psybeam on that Croconaw and then dive to avoid any counterattacks." She ordered.

The Wing Fish Pokemon fired the colored beam attack at Croconaw and then dived back into the water. Misty watched as Croconaw quickly dodged the attack before following the Lumineon into the water. "Dodge Lumineon! Don't let Croconaw touch you! Use Flail to stop his attacks." Misty called as she ran to the edge of the water to see what was happening.

Lumineon had done as told and was flailing as wildly as possible while Croconaw stayed back away from it, waiting patiently. Misty knew instantly that her command had been the wrong one especially when Lumineon tired and stopped. The Croconaw quickly attacked with a powerful crunch attack that instantly knocked out the Wing Fish Pokemon. "No Lumineon!" Misty called out as she dived into the water and towards her Pokemon.

The Croconaw easily pushed the large Wing Fish Pokemon towards her and then helped her once she had recalled her Pokemon to its ball. Once both were back on dry land the Croconaw jumped from one foot to another, a dance of sort as it smiled at its trainer. The Red Trainer recalled it and pulled out another Pokeball, but not before Misty stared dumbstruck at the once dancing Croconaw.

Gary stared at the spot where the Big Jaw Pokemon had stood, wondering if it had been dropped as an egg or was just mentally strange. "That is the first time I've seen a Pokemon dance like that." Gary stated as he shook his head.

"I've seen one dance before." Misty rasped out as she got to her feet. She stared at the Red Trainer for a long moment before she realized that he had pulled out another Pokeball.

"You've seen a Pokemon dance like that before?" Gary asked as he watched the Legend release his next Pokemon. "Where and do you remember who owned it?"

Misty nodded her head. "I remember exactly who owned it, it was almost mine." Misty explained before looking over the odd Pokemon in front of her. "I'll tell you about it later, right now I have a battle." Misty stated as she chose her next Pokemon. "Staryu, shine like the stars in your name!" She called out, releasing her Star Shape Pokemon.

"Lea lea ny leavanny." The Pokemon said as it tilted its head to the side in curiosity of this newest Pokemon it had yet to see, despite all of the battles it had been in.

"Ya Hiya!" Staryu replied as it prepared for battle.

"Gary, do you know what this Pokemon is?" Misty asked as she stared at the species with trepidation. She had a feeling that it was a bug, a nasty and disgusting bug.

Gary chuckled as he nodded his head. "It's a Leavanny, a bug and grass type Pokemon. It originates from Unova so this shows us that he has been all over the world." Gary explained but then rolled his eyes as his girlfriend shuddered at the bug type. "Leavanny are the Nurturing Pokemon Misty, you know, like a mom to all, especially to the pre-evolved state Sewaddle. It wouldn't hurt you even as a wild Pokemon."

"I don't care! It's a bug! A nasty disgusting bug and I hate bugs!" Misty yelled as she shook her head in disgust and took a few steps away from where she had stood before. Gary just rolled his eyes at that.

"Lea! Leavanny! Vanny!" The Nurturing Pokemon yelled as it waved its long needle like arms around in obvious anger.

Gary and Misty both stared before Misty shook herself out of her fear and looked at her Pokemon. "Staryu, use swift and then follow up with rapid spin!" Misty ordered.

"Hiya!" Staryu yelled out as he spun in circles and released a torrent of stars at the bug type. Once he had released all of his stars the Star Shape Pokemon began to spin rapidly and headed towards the Nurturing Pokemon.

The Leavanny looked angry but otherwise unconcerned as her needle like arms lengthened and began to glow a bright green. "That's leaf blade, watch out for that Misty!" Gary shouted as Leavanny did something neither gym leader had ever seen before.

The Leavanny used the Leaf Blades and slashed them at the swift attack, scattering the attack away from it and off to the sides harmlessly. "It deflected swift!" Misty yelled in surprise before it turned into a gasp as a torrent leaves flew from the bug and around it, surrounding it for only a second before it flew towards the still rapidly spinning Staryu. "Staryu, retreat! Get out of there!" She screamed but it was too late. The Star Shaped Pokemon was consumed by the river of leaves and disappeared from sight for several seconds. "Staryu!"

Gary's jaw clenched as he watched his Girlfriend's Pokemon reappeared on the ground of the cave, the big red crystal in the middle of it blinking repeatedly. It was knocked out. "That Leavanny went from Leaf Blade to Leaf Storm in a matter of seconds. Not only that, it was able to deflect the Swift attack. Does that mean that all of his Pokemon do that or even possibly dodge it?" Gary spoke aloud as Misty recalled her downed Pokemon and the Leavanny disappeared after a cheer of victory from it.

Misty clenched her teeth as she watched the Red Trainer pull another Pokeball. "This guy is insane! He's so powerful and not only that he hasn't said a single word since this whole thing started." She stated as the Legend released his next Pokemon.

Gary blinked as wings spread into the air and then revealed a Butterfree with an added feature. "Huh, I've never seen a Butterfree wear a scarf before."

Misty stared in shock at the bug type before shaking her head back and forth. "There's no way that it's the same one!" Misty exclaimed as she turned to the trainer. "You can't be who I think you are!" Misty yelled as her mind began to put the pieces together.

Gary blinked as he looked at his girlfriend in surprise. "What are you talking about Misty?" He asked as he looked back at the Butterfree and then to the trainer. "Do you recognize that Butterfree?"

Misty nodded her head. "I wouldn't really have taken notice of it if it wasn't for that scarf." She pointed towards the yellow scarf tied around the Butterfly Pokemon. "That's why I know who that Butterfree belonged too! At least when it was a Caterpie."

Gary tilted his head as he looked at the Butterfree before looking back at Misty. "So you know who it belonged to before it evolved, but are you saying that it was released later?" He questioned.

Misty frowned as nodded her head. "Caterpie was the first Pokemon that Ash actually caught, he loved that stupid little bug. He was ecstatic when it evolved into a Metapod and then thrilled when it evolved into a Butterfree. He released it though when it wanted to go and migrate with other Butterfree so that they could reproduce." Misty explained as her eyes locked onto the scarf. "Before Butterfree left, Ash gave him a yellow scarf to remember him by."

Gary's eyes widened as he caught onto this and his eyes shot towards the Bug type as he came to the same thought before something else rung in his head. "But Ash released it, so couldn't it have been caught by someone else later on?" He asked with a thoughtful frown.

Misty frowned at this before nodding. "It's possible I guess. But I'm still sure that this is the Butterfree that belonged to Ash." She stated with confidence.

This theory was proven when Butterfree seemed to squeal with joy and flew straight at her and flew around her, ignoring her cringes and flinches. It was overjoyed to see a familiar face after all of its time stuck up on the mountain. Gary smiled at this as he nodded his head. "I guess you were right, it seems to recognize you."

Misty nodded before shooing the Pokemon away. "We're in the middle of a battle here Butterfree." She said and the Butterfly nodded before flying back in front of his trainer. Misty sighed as she looked at Gary. "Do you really think that this Butterfree was caught by a different trainer?" She questioned as she turned back towards the red trainer.

Gary sighed as he realized what his girlfriend was thinking, he himself was thinking about that as well. "I don't know Misty, we just don't have enough evidence that it could actually be him."

Misty nodded her head as she pulled out her next Pokeball, only for a red light to pop out of one on her belt. "Darn it Psyduck why can't you stay in your Pokeball!" Misty exclaimed before the glaring at her Duck Pokemon.

"You brought Psyduck?" Gary asked as he raised a brow at her. "You seriously just want to lose don't you?"

Misty glared at him before turning back to her Psyduck that was tilting its head at the Butterfree. "Well since you came out anyways, use water gun!" Misty ordered.

Misty's head fell as Psyduck did absolutely nothing in order to attack, only tilting his head to the side in confusion. "I can't believe you're still this dumb after all of these years." Misty said as she ran a hand over her face.

"Psy?" Psyduck said as he looked at the Bug type that now had a glowing ball of green energy in front of it.

"Misty! Pay attention!" Gary shouted as the Energy ball flew towards Psyduck and knocked the yellow duck on the head.

Misty yelled in worry for her Pokemon before blinking as glowing blue eyes appeared from the dust from the attack connecting with her Pokemon. "Great! His headache's reached its worst!" Misty exclaimed in excitement. "Use confusion on that Butterfree Psyduck!" Misty ordered.

As Psyduck came into view a blue glow surrounded Butterfree but the bug type continued to flap smoothly and easily, as if nothing was happening at all. Misty growled in irritation and Gary just stared in surprise at the strength of the Butterfree.

That all stopped though when a glowing ball of darkness formed in front of it and Butterfree shot it at Psyduck who didn't even try to dodge. The attack hit dead on. "No Psyduck!" Misty yelled again as Psyduck was sent flying this time and into the stream. The red haired girl quickly ran towards the stream and dove in.

The Cerulean Gym Leader looked around the stream, looking for her Pokemon for long moments. It was a bright white light at the bottom of the stream that caught her attention and soon she was staring at the outline of her Psyduck glowing brightly before it began to shift into something else.

TMS

Gary watched and waited for his girlfriend to reappear, hoping that her Psyduck was alright. 'Even though the thing can't swim and causes her more problems than anything else, she still loves it.' Gary thought. 'I just hope it doesn't drown.'

There was something else though about that Psyduck, especially since it had taken on a hit from the Butterfree, a critical hit since Psyduck was weak against grass attacks, and still had survived. Gary wasn't sure if the Duck Pokemon would have survived the Shadow ball but he couldn't help but hope.

Gary glanced at the Red Trainer, who was still standing as still as his battle with Gary. He hadn't said a word and hadn't moved except to exchange Pokeballs. 'From what Misty told me and from what I remember, could this really be who I think it is?' Gary questioned himself before looking at the Butterfree that was in great shape for a Pokémon that had been hit with Psychic. 'It's really strong, maybe the strongest Butterfree I've ever seen.'

Several moments passed before Gary looked at the stream with worry. 'How long can it take to find a stupid yellow duck down there, it's a freaking stream for Arceus sake! It shouldn't take this long.' Gary thought in worry, walking towards the side of the stream, only to stop as something exploded from the water.

"Don't count us out just yet!" Misty yelled as a Pokemon set her on the ground gently. "This time we aren't going to be knocked out!" She exclaimed as the Pokemon moved to stand in front of her.

"Gol! Duck Duck Golduck!" The Duck Pokemon exclaimed as well as he walked to stand in front of his trainer. "Golduck!" the Blue duck stated confidently as it prepared itself for an attack.

The red trainer remained emotionless and the Butterfree only made sounds of approval. "I guess I'll start this off again, take two!" Misty said as she smiled at her Golduck and Golduck smiled back at her from over his shoulder. "Use rain dance and then go into Aqua Tail." She ordered.

Golduck quickly went into a dance that only he could hear the music too and rain once again began to pour over the three, but increased the soon covered in water tail of Golduck. "Take that bug out!" Misty ordered.

"GOL!" The Duck Pokemon roared as it ran at the Butterfree and then leapt into the air, swinging its tail to hit the Butterfly Pokemon.

Only to have the tail stopped dead by a glowing green shield. "Darn it! Protect!" Misty growled as Gary clenched his jaw in anger for his girlfriend.

Butterfree waited until Golduck had landed on the ground to attack, glowing a bright white as it moved to the water type and slammed right into its stomach, sending it flying. "No! Golduck!" Misty yelled as her newly evolved Pokemon landed in front of her. "Are you okay? Can you get up?" She asked as she watched Golduck force itself to lean against its elbows but soon fell back with swirling eyes. Misty smiled at her beloved duck before recalling it. "Good job Golduck, I'm so proud of you." She said as she held the Pokeball to her cheek before reattaching it to her belt.

The red trainer returned his Butterfree and watched as Misty pulled out her next Pokemon. "This is our last chance to take him out so let's reveal the beauty of the sea!" Misty exclaimed as her final Pokemon appeared on the field.

The Red trainer hardly blinked at the Tender Pokemon as he recalled his Butterfree but didn't pull another Pokeball out. Misty blinked at this before she turned to her boyfriend in question. "Don't look away Misty, his last Pokemon apparently never goes into its Pokeball." Gary informed just as the Red Trainer raised one of his hands to chest level and snapped.

Misty looked back at the sound just in time to see her Milotic be slammed with a bright ball of electricity that caused the water type to go falling backwards and towards Misty. "Milotic!" Misty yelled out as she ran towards her downed Pokemon to find it entirely knocked out. "No way, one of my strongest and taken out in one hit." Misty said in awe as she turned to stare at the Pikachu that was now on the Champion's shoulder. "Pikachu." Misty said as she tilted her head, all of the instances with the familiar Pokemon coming to her.

Gary nodded his head as she came to stand next to Misty as her Milotic was returned and the rain caused by Golduck dispersed. "Yeah that's the Pikachu that took out my Electivire without me even knowing what it used. This time though it used an Electro ball, a powerful electric type move." Gary explained as he watched the Red Trainer, who had yet done anything else since his Pikachu attacked.

Misty nodded her head as she stood up and faced the other trainer with a stern looking face. "Gary, we know him." Misty stated as she walked towards the trainer.

Gary sighed as he tilted his head backwards, wanting to agree with his girlfriend but unable to after all of these years. The hope he had once held for his lost friend and rival had died a year after he disappeared and for it to return and then be smashed would hurt him even more. "I know what you're thinking Mist, but what if you're wrong?" Gary asked as the red head came to a stop right in front of the champion with her hands on her hips.

Misty glared at the trainer in front of her before glancing at the Pikachu that smiled at her and then back at the trainer. "I'm sure Gary, this can't be anyone but him." Misty stated. "This guy is…"  
"There you two are!" a voice yelled and both Misty and Gary looked behind them to find a familiar dark skin man with red cheeks and nose. "I've been stuck in a snowstorm to find you guys and here you are!" He exclaimed as he came up next to the trainers before looking at the Champion. "I'm guessing you guys lost to him correct?"

Misty grudgingly nodded her head as did Gary. "Big time." They said at the same time. "But there's more to it than that!" Misty stated as she pointed her finger at the red trainer and exclaimed heatedly, "That's Ash Ketchum!"

Brock raised an eyebrow at her and nodded his head. "Yeah I know."

TMS

"So, Oak has finally gone up to Mt. Silver, so has that hot blooded girlfriend of his." A teen said as he looked at his companion. "What do you think? Do they have a chance?"

A lilac haired male grunted as he looked at the TV Screen showing a Pokemon Battle from a past league. "Doubt it, especially if Brandon lost to that guy." He added calmly as he continued to watch the battle, a feeling of nostalgia forming in his chest as he watched his younger self battle an old rival.

The blonde haired on nodded his head, already knowing that his companion was right. "Even though those two are one of the toughest gym leaders in the Kanto League, you still believe they'll lose, and personally, I agree. They don't stand a chance against the guy." He turned to his companion and tilted his head. "What do you think Paul, think you can take him?"

Paul Shinji put all of his attention on his younger companion and narrowed his eyes. "I can't tell for sure." He admitted. "But maybe we should make a trip to Mt. Silver and find out. Up for a hike Trip?"

Trip Shooty smirked and nodded as the two stood up and prepared to leave. "Just another challenge to catch on film."

TMS

A.N. Alright then! Another chapter down and the next one on its way. Brock has finally caught up and now the original Trio are together again…but why did Brock know that it was Ash and why hasn't he told anyone until now? Guess we're going to find out along with more characters appearing as well.

Hope you all enjoyed and remember to review and tell me what you thought!


	3. Brock's Reveal

A.N. So I've gotten some emails and a review here or there telling me about how I might as well make Ash Red…Guess what…that's what I intended to do. If you don't like that…then you know what…go read a different story. I write these stories for my own pleasure, though I do love writing to allow others to enjoy my ideas, but mainly for my own pleasure. If you want to continue reading and see what I have in mind for this story, awesome, if you don't…I have other stories you can try reading or you can go read someone else's.

Chapter Three

Brock's Reveal

The two gym leaders stared at the Pokemon Doctor for a long time while Brock stared back with a calm demeanor.

The rain stopped just as Gary turned on his heels and ran straight at the now confirmed Ash Ketchum, slamming a fist into the raven haired teens face.

Brock and Misty watched with horror as Gary punched Ash and the raven's hat flying off of his head and to the ground. "How dare you!" Gary shouted as he straddled Ash's waist and continued to slam his fists into the downed and unresisting trainer. "Hiding up here like a cowered while your mother is in Pallet WASTING AWAY!" Gary shouted at the end as his hands slammed onto the ground on either side of his rival's head with tears falling from his eyes.

Ash just stared up at Gary with deadened eyes and blood trickling from his mouth and nose, tears splashing onto his cheek from Gary. The Viridian Gym Leader couldn't believe what he was staring at and in disgust he stood up and backed away from Ash, wiping the evidence of tears away. "How could you stay up here for three years while your mother has pretty much given up that you're even alive anymore?" Gary asked as he stared in disappointment and anger as the raven stood back on his feet. Gary didn't even notice the Pikachu standing next to his trainer's feet with sparking cheeks and growling angrily.

"You don't even know his reason Gary." Brock finally spoke up as he frowned angrily at the brunette. "You know nothing of his reason for even being here let alone not returning to Pallet town."

Gary turned and looked at Brock with his own scowl while Misty stood next to Brock, looking back and forth between the two males. "Yeah, and what's a good reason for not returning to his home where his mother is? What is it then, huh Brock? What could possibly explain him hiding up here for three Arceus damned years!?" He screeched out at the end.

Brock sighed as he shook his head. "That would be because he doesn't remember where he comes from right now."

Dead silence as Misty and Gary stared at the Doctor with wide and disbelieving eyes. "What do you mean he doesn't remember?" Misty asked confusedly as she looked at Ash, who was still just standing there quietly after standing up from the ground.

"I mean that Ash lost his memories a long time ago." Brock stated as he walked over to Ash and looked over the now developing bruises on the young man and handing him a handkerchief to hold to his bleeding nose. "Damn Gary you got him good, I think you broke his nose." Brock said after Ash had wiped away as much blood as possible.

"He deserves it, maybe it even knocked a few memories out since it's not the first time I broke his nose." Gary stated with his arms crossed over his chest.

Brock rolled his eyes as he looked at the brunette. "Look Gary, it isn't Ash's fault that he lost his memories alright. He's been working to regain them but it's a slow process and Ash is still fighting with the memories he does remember."

Misty stared at the now clean Ash as the raven grabbed a hold of his nose and with a sickening crack, fixed his nose while Brock pulled out medical tape from his bag and taped the nose into place. "The memories he remembers, they involve his Pokemon, right?" The red head asked as she turned to Brock once the PD had finished helping Ash.

Brock nodded his head. "Yeah, he remembered all of his Pokemon, along with me and a few other people. By the way, how did he battle you?" Brock asked as he looked at the two Gym leaders.

The two looked at each other before looking at Brock. "He battled us using six Pokemon. Most were familiar while others were new for us to see, even though we've seen Ash use them on the TV during the tournaments." Gary explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

Brock smiled and nodded his head. "That was Ash's way of telling you that it was him. I'm guessing you faced Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charizard, right Gary." Gary blinked before nodding his head. "Yeah see, he used Pokemon you were familiar with to try and tell you who he was."

Gary nodded his head in understanding. "I didn't realize it though. Any trainer could have those Pokemon, along with the Garchomp, Espeon, and Pikachu." Gary replied evenly.

"The Croconaw though, the Butterfree, the Bayleef, and Pikachu were all ones that Ash had caught with me around though. The Croconaw gave it away, as well as Butterfree's scarf." Misty spoke up as she stared at Ash, who was now looking at her with an intent look on his face. "You knew I'd figure it out if I saw those indicators. That's why you chose those one specifically."

Ash nodded his head, stunning the two Gym Leaders with his first real response. Then the raven quickly made gestures with his hands and symbols that Brock instantly recognized while Gary stared in awe at the raven. "He's signing." Gary muttered when Misty looked at him for an explanation.

" _I know that I cannot remember everything_." Brock translated as he watched the hand movements. " _I know that my Pokemon were important to me, as were my friends, and someone else. Someone I cared about a lot, but I cannot remember yet. I am lost_."

"What do you mean by lost?" Gary asked as he looked at the raven with narrowed eyes, taking in the dull red eyes.

Ash shrugged at this as he looked at Brock for help. Brock stayed silent for a long moment before he answered, looking at Ash to make sure he was explaining right. "It's the fact that his memories are mixed up or aren't fully there. He remembers bits and pieces here and there, but not full memories. I even asked him about a few of the adventures that we had with him, like saving Mewtwo." Brock looked at Misty. "He remembers going to a mountain and then it jumps to baby Nidoqueens and then to Mewtwo being trapped in that electrical field. He can't remember everything right now."

"Baby Nidoqueens." Gary whispered before shaking his head. "Alright, so he remembers some things, does that mean he doesn't remember his mother?" Gary asked as he looked back and forth from Brock to Ash.

Brock sighed before he nodded his head. "That's right. He only remembers a warmth and kind words, nothing else though. He knows that this person is a huge deal in his life from the words he remembers but he doesn't understand why. He doesn't even know what they look like." Brock explained while rubbing at his forehead, like he had a headache.

"What happened? How come he's like this?" Misty asked as she walked over to Ash and took his hands into her own. "What happened to you that caused you to lose everything that we went through and all that you had gained?"

Ash stared at her with blank eyes before he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't take his hands away from her and allowed Brock to speak for him. "From what Ash told me when he first called me up here, he had been in the Kalos Region with some new friends and the League had just ended and then that incident happened. He doesn't remember anything before or after except waking up with his Pokemon and two of his companions."

Gary frowned as he looked at his girlfriend-who was still holding Ash's hands in her own- with a thoughtful look that spoke of his thought processing igniting. "What about those friends of his? Where are they?"

Brock shook his head. "One is the little sister of the Gym Leader for Lumiose City, Bonnie Citron. She's a trainer now last I heard and has been traveling around, I don't know her current location." Brock said as he sent a thoughtful look at Gary. "Her brother, Clemont, has returned to his Gym now and would be the best bet to know what happened. I never bothered asking since I've been rather busy with my studies, job, the gym, and helping Ash."

"What about the other one?" Misty called from where she stood with Ash, still holding his hands as she continued to look the trainer over. "What happened to them?" At this question Ash lowered his head and hid his face using the bill of his hat. Not even bending down to look into his eyes helped Misty to see them.

Brock ran a hand over his face at this as he shook his head. "Ash told me that she didn't make it." He explained. "She was found…dead."

Gary's eyes widened at this while Misty stood up straight and gasped in horror. "Do you know her name?" Gary asked as he looked at his friend, understanding a little now why the teen was so messed up now.

The PD nodded his head. "Her name was Serena Celes and she was an aspiring Pokemon Performer and a Ryhorn Racer."

Gary whistled at that. "Ryhorn racing is an incredibly hard thing to do and for this girl to be a Pokemon Performer and a Racer, she must've been one tough chick."

Misty sniffed as she sent a look at Gary. "She had to be if she stuck around Ash the entire time." She pointed out, getting a glare from Ash himself as he finally looked up at her. She smiled at him and patted him on the cheek. "I'm sure you did everything you could to protect your friends Ash, but you were only what, fifteen? Sixteen?" She questioned him.

Ash scowled at her before sighing soundlessly and nodding his head in agreement. He had been fifteen when they had been attacked, but even that was only guessing work since Ash didn't truly remember what had happened that day. It was all just a haze of fog within his mind.

"I see." Gary said as he nodded his head in understanding. "How did he find his Pokemon though, if he doesn't know where he comes from, how did he know where to get his Pokemon?"

Brock smiled at that as he motioned for everyone to follow him, Pikachu having been quiet during the entire conversation, jumped up onto Ash's shoulder as the raven led them out of the tunnel with the river and back to the one that held all of the Red Trainer's Pokemon. "Simple, Ash has always had a connection with his Pokemon that went deep and he does remember Professor Oak as well. He remembered you as well Gary." Brock explained as Ash released all of the Pokemon he had on him and then took the Pokeballs and hid them somewhere.

Gary nodded his head at this before looking at the Pokemon in front of him. "So he went to Grandpa's farm and got all of his Pokemon. Gramps had been wondering where they had disappeared to." Gary stated as he looked at the Snorlax and then to the Infernape and then to a strange looking one that Gary had only seen a few times. "Is that a Braixen?" Gary asked as he stared at the Fire type.

Brock nodded his head. "Yeah, that's actually Serena's Pokemon when she was alive." Brock said as he looked towards the Fox Pokemon. "Ash snatched Serena's Pokemon when no one had been looking and brought them with him."

"Why would he do that? Shouldn't they have gone to her parents?" Misty asked as she sent a glare at Ash, who was now helping the Braixen groom itself.

"Normally yes, but Grace, Serena's mother, didn't really care. Serena had captured Pokemon for Performances and she wasn't able to care for them like Serena had. Grace is a professional Ryhorn Racer after all and is tougher and less caring about appearances. I told where they were and she was fine with it." Brock explained. "Serena had only caught three Pokemon at that time anyway. Though unfortunately one of them didn't make it either."

Gary looked at the rest of the Pokemon in front of him to see if he could find a Pokemon that would be in Performances but most of them looked like they could be in only Gym battles. "What's the second Pokemon that Ash took? And what was the third on that didn't make it?"

Ash looked up at this before looking off into the corner where a black and white figure was sleeping with a piece of bamboo sprig in its mouth. The really odd thing about this Pokemon though was a pair of red sunglasses sat upon its head. "Pangoro also belonged to Serena when it was still just a Pancham. It has obviously evolved since then into a powerhouse, but Ash has been training it for Pokemon Performances, like Serena wanted, along with Braixen. Her other one was a Sylveon." Brock soon walked among the Pokemon as he looked them each over a little. "Seems like they're all in good health as usual."

Gary watched as Brock continued to check each Pokemon over a little at a time and once he was happy that they were healthy with no injury did he move onto the next. "Hey Misty, I'm going to go outside right quick, I'll be right back." Gary said as he turned and began walking down the cavern.

Misty looked at her boyfriend with a raised brow. "Why, what are you up to?" She questioned as she watched him leave.

"Making a phone call!"

TMS

The explosion that rocked through the tower resounded throughout Lumiose City, but as usual none of the citizens even flinched at the sound, so use to it happening. "Clemont, are you alright!" Bonnie yelled as she ran into the room that her brother always worked on projects in.

Bonnie wore a black tank top with a yellow hoody vest and white skinny jeans, goggles were laying on top of her head as her long blonde hair was held up in a high ponytail and out of her face. The last three years had matured Bonnie a little more than when she had been traveling with her brother and friends when she had been eight.

Now eleven years old Bonnie had received her first Pokemon from Professor Sycamore and had gone on to her own journey but had quickly returned to announce that she had been taken on as an apprentice in Ryhorn racing.

"I'm alright!" Clemont announced as he appeared from the smoke clogging the room at the moment. "It seems that I've failed again on it." He stated with a sigh as he pressed a button on his wrist watch and all of the smoke was filtered away by fans. "I'm starting to think I'll never be able to get this to work."

Clemont had grown in a very sturdy looking eighteen year old, almost as tall as his father, Clemont had taken to wearing a sky blue tank top, along with a yellow jumpsuit that he left the top part wrapped around his middle instead of wearing it, and wore thick black leather gloves to protect his hands from explosions. His glasses were now a crescent moon shape instead of round and his hair was now almost past his shoulders and kept in a low ponytail that helped keep his hair out of his face while he worked on his inventions or was battling trainers.

Bonnie smiled as she walked over to her brother and hugged him around the waist. Clemont stood there surprised but hugged her back with a small smile on his face. "I know its hard Clemont, but I know you can do it! You're the smartest person that I know and I'm sure he's appreciating all the effort you're putting into this." Bonnie said softly, holding strong to her brother.

Clemont smiled at the Ryhorn racer before nodding his head. "Yeah, you're right, I can do this." He said as he let her go to turn around and look at where he had gone wrong. "Now to figure out why it malfunctioned this time and see if I can get it to actually work this time." Clemont stated as Bonnie stood behind him with a smug smile on her face. She had always been able to get him to do things no matter what.

Clemont was just about to continue working when the sound of his phone began to ring. "Oh shoot, who could that be now?" Clemont asked as he walked over to the wall that held his yellow mounted phone and quickly picked it up. "Lumiose City Gym, this is Clemont the Gym Leader Speaking."

 _"Just who I was looking for! You know this is the tenth time I've called this place in the last hour!"_ The voice exclaimed on the other end, in the background Clemont could hear wind howling fiercely. Obviously this person was in the middle of a storm somewhere and was most likely cold at this point.

"Um, sorry about that. If I'm working on something I get lost until it either blows up on me or I get it just right." Clemont explained as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

There was silence on the other end for a long moment, all the blonde could hear was the roaring of the winds wherever this person was. _"Okay, well I called for a reason. My name is Gary Oak, Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym in Kanto."_

Clemont blinked at this as he realized that Gary had to of gone through the League committee to get his number and how troublesome that normally was. "I see, what can I do for you then Gary? Especially after having to deal with the committee."

 _"Yeah, but I hope that it was worth it to talk to you. See here now, I have a friend that traveled with you and your little sister three years ago, his name is Ash Ketchum, remember him?"_ Gary questioned nonchalantly.

Clemont's hand tightened on the phone to the point his knuckles were white. "Yeah, I remember Ash, I'm assuming that you found him on Mt. Silver than." Clemont stated as he waved for Bonnie to stay quiet as she moved to say-most likely yell- something for the other person to hear.

 _"That's right. I want to know what happened to him three years ago when Serena Celes died and why exactly he doesn't speak anymore."_

"I see." Clemont looked at Bonnie as he spoke carefully next. "How long do you plan on staying at Mt. Silver?"

 _"As long as Ash stays up here and as long as this mystery stays a mystery. He's my friend and rival, he deserves to have me helping him remember as much as possible. That and I owe it to his mother."_

"I see, I'll arrive at Mt. Silver in a week's time. Until then you'll just have to deal with the mystery that is Ash Ketchum until I get there." Clemont stated and then hung up the phone.

"Clemont, what's going on? Who was that and what did they want with Ash? Are you really going to Kanto and Mt. Silver?" Bonnie shot off question after question while Clemont waited until she had finished and then answered.

"Someone who knows Ash figured out he was the trainer on Mt. Silver and wants to know what happened to him. His name is Gary Oak and yes, I'll be going to Kanto. Want to come?" Clemont asked at the end as he began packing his backpack, a much sleeker and smaller version of his original one.

Bonnie smiled and nodded her head. "Of course! I'll go pack my bags and get my Pokemon!" With that Bonnie ran off to her room in the tower to do just that.

"Make sure to pack your winter clothes! Mt. Silver is always snowing!" Clemont called out to her and only shook his head as he heard the excited yell. "She'll always love the snow."

Once Clemont was sure that he was packed he walked over to a tall figure in the corner that was hooked up to a large cable, charging at the moment. "Clembot, time to wake up my friend." Clemont stated as he flipped a switch on the charger that awoke the Robot but left him on the charger at the same time.

"What can I do for you Clemont?" The robot asked with a tilted head. It was rare that Clemont would wake him in the middle of a charging session as it took an hour to fully charge him and waking him in the middle left him on the charger for two to three hours instead.

Clemont smiled as he took in the blue headed robot that he had made so long ago. It still looked the same as so long ago, even the dent where he had dropped him was still there. "I'm leaving the tower for a while, so I'll need you to take over the gym again until I get back. I don't know how long so make sure you keep recharging after every battle." Clemont ordered.

Clembot nodded its head before it shut down again to continue charging. It would wake once done and report to the gym where it would wait for a trainer to appear and battle it.

Clemont nodded his head and then left the room, turning off the light and heading down the hall where he had Bonnie's room. He could hear squealing and then a crash. "Bonnie, don't pack your entire room, just pack your clothes and some medicine for your Pokemon and food." Clemont stated as he came to stand at Bonnie's door, staring with exasperation at the sight.

The girl was hidden beneath a pile of clothes, her snow clothes to be exact. "But I don't know what to take Clemont! I know Mt. Silver is known for its blizzards so I won't be wearing any of my white clothes but there's all the others!" She exclaimed as she reappeared at the top of the pile, a familiar orange rat sitting next to her.

"Grab your Yellow pair, that way I'll be able to see you better." Clemont advised, he had always worried about losing his sister up there, especially since most of her Pokemon were weak to ice attacks.

Bonnie smiled and did just that, placing her yellow snow clothes into her bag and then put Dedenne onto her shoulder. "Alright, I'm ready to go Clemont!" She exclaimed as she ran over to her brother and nodded her head.

"Alright then, let's go. We have to take a plane to Kanto and then we'll travel by foot to Mt. Silver. That should give you some time to catch a new Pokemon if you want." He explained calmly.

"Awesome. Let's get going then!" Bonnie yelled as she took off running, Clemont sighing as he walked. "Hurry up big brother. You're still so slow!" She called back at him.

"That's because I don't want to run Bonnie." Clemont called as he motioned for her to turn down another all. "Head down that one and we'll take the emergency elevator."

TMS

"So who were you talking to?" Misty asked once Gary returned, putting his cell phone back into his pocket.

"You'll find out in a week, if you don't mind spending it up here with Ash that is." Gary said as he looked at his Girlfriend, eyes gleaming with mischief.

Misty narrowed her eyes before she shook her head. "I can't leave my gym in my sister's hands for a week, they'll destroy it and the Pokemon will rampage, you know that." Misty said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I still have next weekend off so I'll return then. That is if your mysterious contact will still even be here by that time." Misty stated with a grunt, turning away from Gary to look at Ash's water Pokemon again. "Look at that one right there, I've only ever seen it in a book. It's from the Kalos region and one of the starters too. A Greninja and from the looks of it as well, it's really powerful." Misty explained.

Gary nodded his head in agreement as the Ninja Pokemon jumped as high as it could, obviously in a jumping contest with the opposing Infernape. "Yeah, so is Ash's other Pokemon. I mean just look at them all, especially his Charizard!" Gary said as he pointed at the fire type.

"I know, I still can't believe how big he's gotten! And his Snorlax isn't even fat anymore, it's just pure muscle!" Misty joined in.

As the two continued to gush over Ash's Pokemon, a purple Pokemon approached Gary from behind quietly. Neither trainer noticed the Espeon until it had lifted one of Gary's Pokeballs from his belt. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Gary shouted out in alarm.

"Es!" It exclaimed as the Pokeball was thrown and soon Umbreon appeared from its ball.

Gary watched with a gaping look as Espeon instantly cuddled up to Umbreon, rubbing itself all over the Moonlight Pokemon while cooing at it. Umbreon was confused and then blushing at the affection of the female. It was only moments later when the Dark type and Psychic type disappeared further into the cave together that Gary realized what had just happened.

"That Espeon just wooed my Umbreon!" Gary shouted, gaining the attention of Brock and Ash, both of whom were attending to different Pokemon that Ash had.

"What happened?" Brock asked as he walked over to the two Gym leaders after looking over Buizel. Ash was right behind him from where he had been attending his Leavanny.

Gary pointed towards the area where Espeon and Umbreon had disappeared to. "My Umbreon just went running off with Ash's Espeon!" He exclaimed as his hands flew into his hair and a freaked out look appeared on his face.

Brock blinked before he began chuckling and shaking his head, Misty was hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment, and Ash was just standing there with a tilted head. "I guess we'll be getting an egg in a week's time then." Brock announced as he looked at Gary with amusement.

"What! No! No egg! Umbreon get back here! I forbid it!" Gary called out to his Pokemon, only to obviously be ignored as the moonlight Pokemon did not reappear. "Damn it Umbreon!"

"What's the matter with getting an egg? It won't be going to you." Brock said as he looked at the Viridian gym leader in confusion.

"Wait what?" Gary asked as he turned to the PD and then to Ash. "What do you mean it won't be going to me? Is there some rule about Ash getting it or something?"

Brock raised an eyebrow before nodding his head. "Yes actually there is." Brock stated as he looked at Gary seriously. "Ash's Espeon is female and yours is male, so obviously the Female Pokemon will be the one to keep it. Espeon is Ash's so he gets the egg. You'd get any second egg that they would produce and Ash the third and you the fourth and so on." Brock explained.

Gary nodded his head at this in surprise before shaking his head. "I don't want another egg!" Gary exclaimed. "All the eggs can go to him if he wants them!" Gary stated as he shook his head.

"What's so wrong about getting eggs Gary? Pokemon Eggs are always sought after." Misty questioned as she looked at her boyfriend in worry and curiosity.

Gary groaned as he covered his face. "My gym is full of eggs that people didn't want. There are too many at the moment so I've been giving them to trainers who defeat me in a gym battle." Gary explained as he looked up at the trio in front of him.

Misty was struggling to keep from laughing while Brock just shook his head in amusement. Ash had a small smile on his face as he looked at his old rival. "It's not funny! I'm constantly getting Charmanders and Bulbasaurs and Caterpies! Not to mention all of the Pichus I've had running around my gym." Gary grumbled as he covered his face.

That caused Misty to burst out laughing at the memory of two Pichus that had electrocuted Gary and caused his hair to spike out more awkwardly than normal. "You should've known better than to agree to take eggs that the Pokemon Center received!" Misty squealed out in laughter. Brock was laughing at this point while Ash was still smiling softly.

Gary growled at them all before shaking his head and throwing his hands into the air. "Fine! I give up, let them have an egg then!" With that Gary stalked away from them and back down so he could stand outside in the snow, glowering and pouting at the fact that his Umbreon was getting more than even he did.

TMS

"So this is Mt. Silver of Kanto?" Trip asked as he looked up at the mountain with wide eyes wearing an orange winter jacket lined with Whimsicott fluff that would keep him warm and the ever present modified snow pants for trainers in black. He also wore black fingerless gloves and an orange beanie over his dirty blonde hair. "Good thing I brought as much as I did or we would be in big trouble otherwise."

Paul raised a brow at the younger boy before turning back to the mountain, remembering his own struggles climbing it once. Paul wore a blue snow jacket lined in Altaria fluff and white trainer snow pants with brown gloves to keep his hands warm. "Don't worry, I've been here before so I should be able to get us up there without too much of a problem. Just be ready with your Pokemon." Paul instructed the fifteen year old.

Trip nodded his head as he fingered the six Pokeballs he had brought with him. "I'm ready when you are." He informed and then followed Paul as the older trainer entered the first cave of Mt. Silver. Their fight to the top had begun.

TMS

Four days had passed and Gary was the only one staying up on the mountain with Ash at this point. Brock had to return to the hospital and Misty had to return to her Gym to take care of it. Gary had called his older sister Daisy, to take care of his gym until he got back, along with all of his lab assistants his lab would be fine.

The time that Gary spent with Ash also taught the Gym Leader a lot as well, such as training regimens that he could put his own Pokemon through. Ash pushed all of his Pokemon to the brink of exhaustion and then beyond. Making them battle against their weaknesses within the wild and then against each other. Gary had been horrified the first time he had seen Bulbasaur be engulfed in a flamethrower from Charizard, only to come out with only singed marks.

Gary had even started training his Pokemon alongside Ash's and soon began to see the differences between them. While Ash's Pokemon flew through the workouts and battles with each other, Gary's Pokemon struggled to keep up and even damage any of Ash's Pokemon. "Wow, they're so strong." Gary said after recalling his Pokemon and Ash's Pokemon had headed back into the cave. "You've done really well with them Ash."

Ash nodded his head at Gary before he turned towards the Cave entrance that would lead back towards the bottom of Mt. Silver. "What is it? A Pokemon appearing or someone else?" Gary asked as he turned to the entrance as well as the Blizzard that Ash had Espeon stop earlier reappeared, never touching the two standing in the open though.

"We'll have to get through this blizzard if we want to find him." A voice came through the raging snowstorm.

Gary raised a brow at the voice, trying to place it from somewhere, he had heard it before. "I figured as much, it's either that or we wait it out, we don't know how long this thing could last." A younger voice called out a little later.

Ash though seemed to recognize the voices and looked at Gary, seemingly trying to get something across before he turned and walked towards the cave that would hold his Pokemon. Gary stood there in confusion before the two voices finally made it to the area that he was standing in. "Well if it isn't Paul and the shrimp." Gary drawled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oak, what are you still doing here? I thought you already battled the legend." Trip said as he looked at Gary with a scowl. "And the name is Trip!"

Gary waved at him arrogantly before nodding his head. "I did, and I lost." Gary admitted as he kept the two's attention on him while Ash went and got Pokemon. "I'm guessing the two of you are here to battle him too."

Trip shook his head and held up his camera. "I'm here to catch the battle. I don't battle seriously anymore, I work more on my Photography than anything." Trip said easily.

"I'm here to battle him." Paul stated as he glared at Gary. "So where is he?"

Gary smirked at the two. "Right behind you."

TMS

A.N. Alright, so a lot still hasn't been explained and a lot is till all over the place. What happened at the league and what exactly happened to Serena? Why isn't Ash speaking? What is Clemont working on? Will Paul beat Ash? Will Ash ever go Home? So on and all of it will be answered in time. I know I did this a little weirdly but I think it's alright. Anyways review and tell me what you thought and be prepared for the next Pokemon battle. Ash vs Paul. Match three I believe.


	4. Paul's Battle

Chapter Four

Paul's Battle

Paul and Trip whipped around to stare in amazement at the figure that the Red Trainer made in his simple and light clothing and his dull crimson eyes. "So you're the Legend." Paul stated as he regained his composure. "I'm here to battle you, do you accept?"

Gary smirked as Ash simply walked by Paul to stand next to Gary, giving the brunette an intent stare. "Alright, I get it, I'll get out of the way. Shorty, this way so we're out of their way." Gary called as he walked over to where the cave entrance to leave was located. "This battle isn't going to be too long." Gary said calmly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Trip scowled at Gary before looking at the two opposing Trainers. "Oh, I think Paul stands a chance, he's defeated Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. How hard can this guy really be?" Trip asked as he readied his camera.

Gary smirked at the younger boy before looking back at Ash. "Let me explain it this way…his Squirtle defeated my Blastoise with one hit." Trip stared at Gary in shock just as Ash released his first Pokemon.

"That isn't a Pikachu." Paul stated blandly as he stared at the Sea Weasel Pokemon. "What's up, I thought the Legend only ever used his over powered electric rodent." Paul said as he looked over to Gary. "Oak, did you fight that Pikachu?"

Gary nodded his head. "I had to fight five other of his Pokemon though, it seems that he can recognize those who are strong." Gary spat out quickly, knowing Paul wanted an explanation but not wanting to explain who he was really fighting.

Paul shrugged his shoulders and quickly pulled out a Pokeball of his own. "Stand by for Battle Torterra." The Continent Pokemon roared as it appeared and sneered at the Buizel in front of it. "Use Seed Bomb." Paul ordered.

Torterra nodded its head and shot several large pods at Buizel. Paul frowned as the water type stood there, as if not going to dodge. "What are you up to?" Paul questioned just as the Buizel disappeared at the last second and then reappeared behind Torterra. "What!? How did it move so fast?" Paul exclaimed just as Buizel spat out a large stream of steaming water at Torterra's back.

The grass type roared in pain as it was pushed across the snow covered ground and towards the red trainer, who didn't move even as the Continent Pokemon moved ever closer.

Paul watched as his Torterra stopped only about a foot from the trainer as the Buizel stopped its attack. His Torterra didn't get up. "Rest Torterra." Paul said as he recalled his Pokemon and then glared at the Red Trainer as he too recalled his own Pokemon.

Trip stared in shock from his place on the side lines, having never seen Paul's Pokemon taken out so fast before. "That's impossible." He muttered as he looked down at his camera where it showed a picture of Buizel appearing behind Torterra and shooting off the Scald. "That Buizel moved so fast, I couldn't even keep up with it."  
Gary nodded his head in agreement as he watched Ash release his next Pokemon. "I know, I don't even know what move his Pikachu used against my Electivire. All I know is that there was a flash and when I was able to see again my Pokemon was knocked out with that Pikachu sitting on it like it was an everyday occurrence." Gary explained as he tilted his head at Ash's choice of Pokemon.

Trip also stared at the Pokemon as he remembered something that Paul had told him once. "Gliscor, Paul has one at his Brother's ranch." Trip said as he looked over the Ground and Flying Type. "But I've never seen one that big before."

Gary also took in the size of the Gliscor, which was at least seven feet if not taller. "He's trained all of his Pokemon up here, not to mention cared for them as well, they've all adapted from the harsh training and weather, at least from what I can figure from being up here with him." Gary stated as Paul released his next Pokemon.

"Stand by for Battle Honchkrow." The Big Boss Pokemon crowed as it appeared, flinching slightly at the cold weather before looking down at the Gliscor in front of it, narrowing its eyes as if it noticed something about it. "Calm Mind and then go into Steel Wing. After that follow up with Dark Pulse." Paul ordered.

Honchkrow quickly closed its mind as it relaxed and allowed its mind to calm as its power rose along with its defense. Once it had done that it quickly flew towards Gliscor with glowing wings of steel.

Paul watched as the Gliscor easily avoided the attack and drifted with the wind that was blowing around the trainers. He watched as the Gliscor easily avoided the dark pulse that the Big Boss Pokemon had shot at it as well, frustrating the Trainer greatly. "Are all of your Pokemon this fast or are these ones exceptions?" Paul spat out as he looked at his Flying Type. "Use Pursuit."

Honchkrow quickly began to pursue the Fang Scorp Pokemon and glowed with a dark aura, but continued to miss each and every single time. "Honchkrow, stop and use Roost!" Paul called as he realized how tired his Pokemon was becoming. He was going to take the chance for his Pokemon to heal as the other Trainer hadn't attacked just yet. The blizzard was doing harm to the flying type and Paul knew it.

Gary frowned as he watched the Big Boss Pokemon land and began to rest, regaining energy it had lost after attacking Gliscor as it had. Ash still didn't attack and Gary was wondering if the raven haired trainer was messing with Paul. After all, the Veilstone Trainer had been one of Ash's biggest Rivals, not to mention that the two of them butted heads more than Gary and Ash had.

Paul frowned as he realized that Gliscor was now yawning at him, as if the battle was nothing to it at all. "Okay that's it." Paul growled just as his Honchkrow came out of its Roost. "Honchkrow use…"  
Only to stare in horror as Gliscor sped at the big boss Pokemon with fire covered fangs that instantly sunk into the Big Boss Pokemon. Honchkrow could only give out one yell of pain before it fell to the ground and didn't get back up. It was an instant knockout once again.

Paul growled as he recalled his Pokemon, watching as the other did the same. "Why haven't you used that Pikachu yet? What are you waiting for?" Paul called out as the red Trainer released his third Pokemon.

Gary smirked as he already knew why Ash hadn't used Pikachu yet. Obviously the Pallet Town Trainer was trying to tell Paul who he was by using Pokemon that the grey haired teen had faced off before. Just like Ash had done with Misty and Gary themselves.

Trip was also wondering why Pikachu hadn't been called and turned to face Gary, wondering if the Viridian Gym Leader knew, only to see that smirk on the other's face. "You know why he hasn't used that Pikachu, don't you?" Trip asked as he glared at the older trainer.

Gary glanced down at the fourteen year old with the same smirk still on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about shrimp." The Gym Leader turned back to the battle as he finally took in which Pokemon Ash had released next.

Trip scowled at the gym leader before turning back to the battle to stare at the large flying type. "Staraptor, another Sinnoh original." Trip muttered as his mind went through the Pokemon that the Red Trainer had used. "Why is he using Sinnoh Pokemon, I'm sure he could easily just use any Pokemon, why Sinnoh?" He questioned.

Paul meanwhile looked at the very muscular looking Predator Pokemon. "Haven't battled one of these in a while." He said as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Alright, Weavile, standby for battle." And soon Paul's Weavile stood on the snow covered ground with a wide smile on its face. "Use Shadow ball and then Blizzard."

Weavile didn't hesitate as it quickly formed the Shadow ball and then threw it. As soon as the dark type attack had left its claws the Sharp Claw Pokemon then created a blizzard right behind it. Paul watched on with a proud smirk as the blizzard froze the Shadow ball solid, turning it into a shadow snowball.

The Staraptor though looked at the attack as if it was nothing more than an annoyance before glowing a bright white before several other Staraptors appeared in the air. "No! Double team!" Paul growled as he looked at all of the different Staraptors that were flying around in the air. "Quick, Weavile, use Icy wind and knock out those fakes!"

"Weav! Vile!" The Sharp Claw Pokemon yelled as to threw a strong icy wind at all of the Staraptors and watched with pride as all of the double team clones were dispersed, leaving only one Predator Pokemon left flying steadily in the Icy Wind.

"Alright! Now use Nasty Plot followed by Screech!" Paul ordered and watched as Weavile thought of several apparent nasty things before looking at Staraptor and screeching with everything it had.

"Star!" The flying type yelled out as it shook its head while being trapped by the screech that lowered its defense greatly. "Raptor!"

"Now! Use quick attack to get close to it and then go into Ice Beam!" the Lilac haired trainer commanded before watching Weavile do exactly that. The Ice type had just leapt high into the air though when Staraptor flipped around to face the attacking Pokemon.

Paul could only watch with wide eyes as the Staraptor interrupted the Ice Beam by beating up on the dark type Pokemon with its wings and talons. The Predator Pokemon continued to slam Weavile before lifting its wing high into the air and slamming brutally into the defenseless Pokemon and into the ground.

Weavile did not get back up.

Paul sighed as he recalled his Pokemon. "Take a rest." He said to it as the Red Trainer recalled his flying type before pulling out another Pokeball. Paul had soon realized that the trainer was showing his Pokemon first so that Paul would have an advantage each time. "So you like to challenge yourself huh?" Paul asked as he watched the next Pokemon appear in front of him.

"So he has a Torterra as well." Trip said as he tilted his head at the grass type that seemed to be…sleeping? "Is this going to be an automatic win if that thing doesn't wake up?" The Nuvema Town Trainer asked with a raised brow.

Gary rolled his eyes at that and shook his head instead. "No, I doubt it. Let's just see what he does about it though, especially since he doesn't speak." He stated as he watched Paul bring out his next Pokemon. One he wasn't too terribly surprised to see.

"Standby for battle Drapion." Paul called as the Poison type appeared with a roar. "Use Toxic Spikes!" Paul called out as fast as he could.

The Torterra still slept as the spikes hit the ground around it, seeping into the ground. "Looks like Paul doesn't care that the Torterra is asleep." Gary muttered with narrowed eyes. "Which means he knows to take it seriously no matter what, a good trait for a trainer to have." He approved with a nod.

Trip raised a brow at that before turning back to the battle and taking pictures again as Drapion moved in for its next attack. "Hone claws and then into Cross Poison." Paul commanded and Drapion did as told, quickly honing its claws before allowing its arms to glow a purple and crossing them. Once it had enough power behind the attack it moved quickly and slammed into the Torterra before leaping backwards.

"You're kidding me! That didn't wake up that thing!?" Trip shouted in surprise at the still sleeping grass type. It was incredibly idiotic for this to be happening to someone like Paul, especially as Paul had defeated Cynthia in an unofficial Pokemon battle, six on six. Now to be insulted by a sleeping Torterra, that had to be grinding Paul's gears into oblivion at this point.

Paul growled in irritation, cause Trip was right in his thoughts, this situation was annoying the Veilstone trainer beyond imagination. "Okay this is it!" Paul declared as he looked at his Ogre Scorp Pokemon. "Use Ice fang and then X-Scissor and then move into Fire fang!" Paul commanded immediately.

Gary whistled at the command as Drapion leapt onto Torterra with glittering icy fangs. "Seems like he's finally lost that temper of his." Gary stated while Drapion quickly moved into X-Scissor that slammed into the Torterra's side viciously, sending the grass type sliding towards its trainer and only coming to a halt about a foot from hitting Ash. "To think that he would become agitated this quickly into the battle."

Trip shrugged as the Poison type's fangs caught on fire and it tore into Torterra's side, lighting it on fire before it finally backed away. "Well, Paul is really calm in most situations except when he feels like he's being insulted. Then he tends to lose it." The Nuvema trainer explained as he snapped his camera several times.

Gary nodded his head. "I see, well it looks like Torterra is finally awake."

Indeed, the Continent Pokemon yawned as it looked around to see what was happening. It was only when its eyes settled onto the heavily panting Drapion that it understood and stood onto its feet. "Finally!" Paul groused as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Drapion, finish this with a Hyper Beam!"

"Bad move." Gary said as Drapion charged the hyper beam. "It won't hurt that Pokemon at all, I'm sure of it." He explained to a curiously looking Trip. "My Girlfriend tried something similar and lost to a counter."

Trip's eyes widened at that as he turned back to where Drapion had released its hyper beam. Trip gulped as the attack connected with the oddly calm Torterra. "So you don't think the Torterra has been taken out?" Trip asked as he watched the smoke erupt from where the attack hit and cover the Continent Pokemon.

"Nope." Gary said as he popped the p. "If anything Paul is going to have to watch out for a counter attack."

And just as Gary said that a large beam of light shot from the smoke and slammed into the startled Drapion.

It didn't get up.

Paul stared in surprise at his knocked out Drapion before looking at the clearing smoke where the Torterra stood firmly with slight burns on it, but otherwise unaffected. It even yawned before it was recalled into its Pokeball. "No way." He muttered as he called his own Pokemon back and waited to see what Pokemon would come out next. "A one hit K.O." Paul gritted his teeth at the thought that his Pokemon, all terrifyingly strong in their own rights, being taken down like amateurs.

Gary blinked as Ash raised a hand into the air and snapped his fingers. "Why is he bringing his Pikachu out? I thought Paul had only faced four of his Pokemon." Gary said out loud as Pikachu appeared in front of Ash out of seemingly nowhere.

"So that's the fable Pikachu that Paul is going to face huh?" Trip asked as he looked over the little yellow rodent. "Doesn't seem like it's anything special." He admitted with a frown. "And your right, Paul's only faced four of the Legend's Pokemon, why is he bringing out the Pikachu now if what you say is true and he wants Paul to fight an all Six on Six battle?"

Gary shrugged as Paul released his own Pokemon. "No clue, but I have a feeling this has something to do with Paul's past battles. I guess we'll find out in the end anyways." With that Gary stared at the Pokemon he'd only face once before that Paul had brought out.

Paul frowned at the Mouse Pokemon as he realized that it seemed unaffected by the Poison spikes that he had set up earlier, though it was obvious that it had done something as the Pikachu shook itself, as if ridding itself of water. Paul shook his head to concentrate more on the battle and threw out a Pokeball. "Standby for Battle Barbaracle." With that the Collective Pokemon stood towering over the little mouse type Pokemon. The differences in height was startling but not the biggest difference in height that Pokemon could be.

"That's a risky choice." Gary said as he tilted his head at the two Pokemon, both staring at each other with considering looks.

Trip blinked before looking at Gary with confusion. "Whys that? Paul has used his Barbaracle to battle plenty of Electric types before. It's the way he battles after all." Trip said as he turned back to take pictures of the two facing Pokemon.

Gary nodded his head at that. "I know, but Paul already knows that this Pikachu is the most powerful of this Trainer's Pokemon. Why would he risk sending out a water type to face it when he would have a better chance with his other Pokemon?"  
Trip smirked at that as he sent a look at Gary. "We heard from the Cerulean Gym Leader what happened to you, that's why."

Gary scowled as he began to think on what he would do to his girlfriend when she returned to the mountain. "How dare she tell people what happened." Gary sulked as the battle in front of him began.

TMS

Clemont smiled as Bonnie ran in front of him, squealing at all of the Pokemon that she hadn't been able to see due to her Ryhorn Racing apprenticeship. The blonde girl had always had the talent to ride, so much in fact that when she met Grace and bested the woman in a Skiddo race, the Ryhorn racer had instantly taken her on as an apprentice. Clemont was happy for both racers as it helped Bonnie find something she was good at and enjoyed while Grace was healing faster and easier with another girl to put her focus on.

"Clemont! Look at that one! What is it?! What is it!?" Bonnie yelled out in excitement as she pointed at a tree where a green worm looking Pokemon sat chewing on some leaves.

Clemont shook his head at her question as it was a habit that she hadn't ever gotten out of, despite the fact that she had received a Pokedex once she had received her first Pokemon. "Why don't you use your Pokedex and find out?" He questioned.

The blonde Ryhorn Racer giggled sheepishly as she pulled out said instrument and pointed it at the little worm. " _Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Its feet have suction cups designed to stick to any surface. It tenaciously climbs trees to forage."_

Bonnie's smile could've split her face in half as she turned back to Clemont, eyes shining. "Didn't Ash have one once!? He has a Butterfree and on the Pokedex it shows that Caterpie evolves into Butterfree!"  
Clemont laughed at that as he nodded. "If he caught his Butterfree as a Caterpie then yes, he would've had it at some point as a trainer. He obviously trained it and evolved it as well." Clemont agreed and watched as Bonnie's face became serious as she turned to the munching Worm Pokemon.

"I'm going to catch it!" She declared as she pulled out one of her Pokeballs from her belt. "Watch me Clemont! I'm going to have a new companion soon!" With that she threw her Pokeball with her choice of battling Pokemon.

"Ches! Chespin!" The grass type yelled as it appeared in front of the blonde girl with a cheer.

"Chespin! See that Caterpie in the tree?" Bonnie asked as she pointed at the bug type.

Chespin looked up at the tree before turning back to the blonde and nodded its head. "Ches! Pin pin Chespin ches." It said with a tilted head.

Bonnie nodded her head as if she could understand it clearly. "That's right, I'm going to capture it and make it a part of our family. So bring it down to the ground with Vine whip so it can't escape." She ordered.

Chespin did as told as a fierce look settled onto its little face and then vines extended from its back and wrapped around the startled Caterpie before slamming it into the ground. Caterpie yelled in surprise and pain as it slammed into the ground but soon was back up and glaring at the grass type. It quickly used String Shot and wrapped Chespin in a sticky string that it struggled to break.

"Don't worry Chespin, use Pin missile and then use Razor leaf to cut yourself free!" She commanded.

"Ches!" Chespin shouted as its little spikes on its head glowed green before shooting off the missiles that slammed into Caterpie, knocking it off to the side. The Spiny Nut Pokemon quickly followed up with Razor leaf that cut through the string shot and then slammed into Caterpie again.

"Now Bonnie!" Clemont called as he realized that Caterpie was weak enough to be caught.

Bonnie nodded as she pulled out a pink and yellow Pokeball that she threw at the Worm Pokemon with deft accuracy. The ball hit the little bug Pokemon in the head and it soon disappeared in a light of red.

The brother and sister watched with anticipation as the Pokeball shook back and forth before a resounding bing declared a success. Bonnie smiled as she ran over to the Pokeball and picked it up in excitement, her Chespin at her side with its own smile. "Yay! I caught a Caterpie!" She shouted in glee as she held her Pokeball out in excitement.

Clemont smiled as he began walking on again. "Good job Bonnie, let's get going. I want to reach the Pokemon Center in Viridian City before it gets too late. We've wasted too much time as it is already." Clemont said as Bonnie ran to catch up to him, her Chespin and Caterpie now in their Pokeballs and on her belt.

"Are we going to get a car when we reach Viridian City big brother?" She questioned as she realized that Clemont was actually starting to get anxious now. That call he got must've riled him up more than he had thought.

"We are. If we do that than we should be able to reach Mt. Silver much faster." Clemont explained as his gate began to increase now.

Bonnie nodded her head in agreement before stopping and pulling out a Pokeball once more. "Time to run my trusty stead!" With that a Ryhorn appeared just in front of her with a harness and saddle already on it. "If we're talking sped than hop on big bro! Ceres will be able to get us to town faster than on foot or a car." She said with a smile as she hopped up onto the saddle.

Clemont scowled at the creature before sighing and nodding his head. "I still hate riding them but you're right, we need to get moving." Clemont stated as he climbed onto the Saddle behind Bonnie. "Try not to knock me off." He said as he wrapped his arms around his sister.

Bonnie chuckled as she reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a pair of brown gloves that she put on quickly. "I guarantee nothing." She stated as she took the reins.

The scream that Clemont let off as the Ryhorn took off could be heard all around.

TMS

Paul took a deep breath as he tried to plan on what to do, before an idea popped into his head. He was going to use the tactic that a Gym leader in Kalos region had used on him before, one that he had his Barbaracle trained to use as well. "Alright Barbaracle, use Rock Tomb!"

Gary blinked at the move as the Rocks seemed to circle around instead of just falling. "What in the world." He said as he watched the rocks begin to fall towards Pikachu.

Trip smirked as he took several pictures of the move in action. "This is a Rock Tomb Tactic to corner an opponent's Pokemon that Paul learned from a gym leader in Kalos. His name is Grant and he's the Rock type Gym leader." Trip explained.

Gary nodded his head in understanding before he began to smirk as well, pointing at something on top of one of the rocks. "Well, looks like the Legend has a tactic against this as well." He stated with confidence.

Trip watched with wide eyes as the Pikachu leapt from one rock to the other, climbing up them like steps until it was higher up than even the Rock Tomb. "What in the world just happened?!" Trip asked, his camera still clicking as he caught the movements of the Pikachu.

Paul stared up in awe of the Pikachu. He had never once seen a Pokemon make movements like that before and it was astounding that this trainer had found a way to counter rock tomb without injuring his Pokemon in turn.

Paul and his Barbaracle were so stunned that they didn't notice the Pikachu reach the peak of the Rock Tomb attack and leap high above it, a bright yellow ball forming on the Mouse Pokemon's tail.

Trip saw it though as he looked through his camera and at the smirking Pikachu's face. "Paul! Look out!" He called out.

Paul broke out of his awe struck look just in time to see the electro ball slam into his Collective Pokemon with terrifying force, throwing it pass Paul and towards the mountain where it slammed into solid rock. "Barbaracle!" Paul yelled as he turned around to see his water and rock type slumped against the mountain, knocked out and not getting up again anytime soon. "Get some rest." Paul said as he recalled his Pokemon before turning back to the Legend.

Gary watched as Pikachu ran over to Ash and settled down next to the raven's side while Ash pulled out his final Pokeball. "Wonder what Pokemon he's going to use now, especially since he only ever uses one Pokemon for each of Paul's." Gary said as Ash released his next Pokemon.

Paul raised an eyebrow at the fire type standing in front of him, glaring at the Lilac haired teen. Again the Pokemon looked like the Poison spikes did nothing to it even though it shook itself like the Pikachu had. "Hm, guess I'll have a reenactment then." Paul stated as he pulled out his last Pokeball. "Standby for battle Electivire!" The Thunderbolt Pokemon roared as it appeared on the field.

Gary blinked at the words Paul had said before blinking as something clicked in his head. "You have got to be kidding me!" Gary yelled as he swiped up some snow from the ground and made it into a snowball.

Trip blinked in surprise as the Snowball hit the legend square in the face, though all the raven did was wipe the snow away while glancing at Gary. "Why did you do that?" Trip asked but was ignored as Gary yelled at the Red Trainer.

"Is that how you're telling him!? You can't really expect for him to remember every battle he's been in do you!?" Gary yelled but the squawked in anger as the trainer rolled his eyes and then turned back to Paul. "Don't ignore me!"

Paul meanwhile was staring at his Electivire as it seemed to cheer about something before running towards the Infernape and wrapping its big arms around the Flame Pokemon while cheering. "What in the world." Paul muttered while listening to Gary with half an ear.

Electivire soon put the laughing Infernape on the ground and patted it on the back happily. Infernape did the same thing before shaking its body once more, scowling at the ground in anger. It soon disappeared into the ground with dig and Paul could only watch as the ground heated up quickly, snow melting in large puddles, and then fire erupting from the ground with the poison that had been tainting the earth.

"No way." Paul said as he watched the Infernape return above ground before smiling at the Electivire in sheepishness and then glancing back at Paul with a glare on its face. It was when the Infernape glared at him that Paul saw it.

Very few people knew that the band like piece framing an Infernape's face was actually a piece of their skull thickening and jutting forward, protecting the precious organ, the brain. And because of that the skin stretched over and would sometimes hide defining marks or scars of that Pokemon as it stretched and somewhat faded.*

But Paul remembered the scar that a certain Chimchar had from fighting several Zangoose. And so it was without any hesitation that he marched over to the two Pokemon, one watching him with curiosity while the other glared at him. It was when he was close to the Infernape that he bent down enough to look at its forehead, taking in the X shaped scar that was so pale that if he hadn't been looking for it he'd have missed it entirely.

With that as confirmation Paul turned towards the Red trainer that was still ignoring a shouting Gary and startled Trip, determination settled on his face as he looked at the Legend. "I had no idea that you would get so powerful that you would become a Legend." Paul said as a smirk fell onto his face. "After all, you were once a weak and pitiful trainer, weren't you Ash."

That silenced Gary and had Trip staring at Ash with wide surprised eyes. Ash meanwhile was smirking back at Paul before nodding towards their two Pokemon. "Ah, yeah, let's finish this then." Paul said as he walked back over to his place before turning back to his Electivire. "Get ready to battle Electivire." Paul commanded and his Electivire nodded before turning back to Infernape, a battle ready look already settling onto his face.

Infernape smiled at that before he jumped away and got himself ready for battle as well.

The wind whistled on top of Mt. Silver as the two trainers waited to see who would make the first move. It was Paul that ran out of patience. "Thunder Punch Electivire!" Paul commanded.

The Thunderbolt Pokemon immediately ran up to the Infernape with a glowing fist and went to hit the Flame Pokemon.

Only for Infernape to dodge to the side with a smirk on its face. "Don't think that just because you dodged one hand that you'll dodge the other." Paul shouted with a smile on his face when Electivire's other hand came out of nowhere, sparking with electricity.

Ash smirked as Infernape's own glowing fist slammed into the electrified one while his other one slammed into Electivire's stomach. Paul blinked in surprise at that before shouting out in dismay as his Electric type Pokemon fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

Trip watched all of this through his camera lens before lowering it and staring at Ash in awe and confusion. "But how…I thought Ash was…."  
"Dead?" Gary said as Paul recalled his Electivire and walked over to the smirking Ash and his Infernape. "Yeah, same here actually, I'm still trying to figure out what happened, I even have a friend of his that knows the full story coming to meet us up here. He should be here in a few days actually." Gary explained as he and Trip began to walk towards the two trainers.

Trip nodded his head as he took pictures of Paul patting the Infernape on the shoulder and then shaking Ash's hand with a smile on his face. "Think you two would mind the company?" Trip asked.

Gary smirked as he shook his head. "Nah, Ash could use someone other than me to beat up on! You are a perfect candidate shrimp." Gary stated as he walked away from the fuming Photographer.

"The name is Trip!"

TMS

A.N. Haha! So another one down and another person knows who lives on Mt. Silver! Also Bonnie caught a new Pokemon! Caterpie was actually the first Pokemon I caught in my first Pokemon game, besides the starter at least but that one doesn't count! Anyways more will be revealed when Clemont and Bonnie arrives at Mt. Silver, which should be next Chapter! So review and tell me what you all thought! I can't wait to hear!

* Also that entire paragraph I bullshitted up! Just so you know! I don't know if that is actually part of Infernape or not but I decided that it could be! I just wanted to put it to use is all so don't take me seriously on that part ok!


	5. Clemont's Reveal

Chapter Five

Clemont's Reveal

"When did you say this Gym Leader was supposed to be here?" Paul spoke over the sound of the wind as he watched his Pokemon train with Ash's own, each one chugging on heroically even as Ash's more powerful Pokemon pushed them to their limits. Gary's and Trip's own Pokemon were also training and all but Ash's Pokemon were struggling.

Gary shrugged as he shoved his hands into his pockets, trying vainly to keep them warm while the blizzard blew around them. "No clue. They said they would be here in a week when I last talked to him and it's been about five days. He should be here in a few more days." He replied talking just as loud over the sound of the wind.

Trip scowled at that as he hugged himself, trying to conserve some body warmth even as he watched his Serperior fall to the ground in exhaustion. "I don't know how much longer my Pokemon are going to last in this…let alone me!" He exclaimed as he pulled out the grass type's Pokeball and recalled it.

Gary and Paul nodded at this and soon all three trainers began to recall their Pokemon into their balls to rest and heal from both the training and the harsh weather. Ash's own Pokemon quickly adjusted to the smaller group of Pokemon and grouped with each other, still training feverishly.

Gary growled though when he saw that his Umbreon was lying in a cleared spot that had not wind nor snow pelting down on it while the Espeon was curled into its side. The Gym Leader knew that that egg was going to show up any day now and he hoped that Ash wanted it because he did not!

"So now what?" Trip asked as he looked at Ash's Pokemon, watching how they all worked together to make each other stronger, leaving their battle to join another randomly and then hopping back to attack their original opponent. It was all rather confusing to watch because one never knew which Pokemon was going to attack who.

Gary shrugged as Paul walked away from them and over to Ash. "No clue, we can only really wait for this Lumiose City Gym Leader to arrive. We could always go and explore Mt. Silver, there's always more caves to explore." He stated calmly.

Trip tilted his head in thought and then nodded his head in agreement. "Sure, why not. It's not like we have a lot to do while we wait." With that he and Gary walked into Mt. Silver caverns and began walking around, Trip taking pictures once in a while of Pokemon that were doing interesting things or looked different than normal ones. "So…how much of this place have you explored?"  
Gary shrugged as he looked around as well. "No clue…I've come here often to explore and capture Pokemon that looked strong." He explained as he pulled out a Pokeball and released one of his Pokemon. "Electivire, be on guard." Gary said as he watched the Shadows with narrowed eyes.

Trip blinked at the appearance of the Electric type before looking around as well, trying to decide if he wanted to call out one of his Pokemon as well. "What is it?" He questioned as he reached down and fingered one of his Pokeballs as well, ready to pull it and call out his Pokemon at any time.

"There's Pokemon following us, stay on guard and be ready to battle at any moment." Gary explained as he continued to walk. "Let's go this way, I know there's a group of Sneasel that are pretty friendly. You have to watch out for the Weavile though. They tend to be a bit more aggressive." Gary explained calmly.

Trip nodded his head in understanding and followed the elder trainer, still fingering the ball on his hip. "So, how long have you known Ash for anyways? I've only met him a few years ago. We were rivals back in Unova." Trip explained calmly, taking pictures of a few Sableye that were picking at some berries they had gathered between them.

Gary frowned at the question but decided he might as well answer since it was pretty common knowledge anyways. "I've known Ash since we were babies. Our parents use to travel and work together when they were kids. Our mothers even got pregnant only months apart." Gary explained as a light began to stream in front of them, indicating the exit. "We were friends and then rivals when we became trainers…we still fought a lot though after I became a researcher and we never really became friends again." He frowned heavily at that as he realized that was really true.

Trip nodded his head in understanding as the two walked out into the snow once more, but this time there were pine trees and bushes covered in berries all over the place with a small clearing that held a lake that had some ice covering it. The best part was that there was no falling snow and it was calm. "Wow…this is beautiful." Trip said as he took several snapshots of the lake in front of him.

Gary just smirked and nodded his head as he looked around, taking in the silence with a confused frown. "Where are the Sneasel and Weavile?" He questioned aloud as he walked forward, taking in the prints that were obviously fresh but also looked as if the Pokemon had left in a rush. "Something isn't right. Electivire, on guard." Gary ordered and the Thunderbolt Pokemon prepared for battle in an instant. "You got a Pokemon ready to fight?" Gary questioned as he looked around the area.

Trip nodded as he pulled out a Pokeball and released a Pokemon from within. "Prepare for battle Vanillite. We've got company somewhere here." He instructed the Fresh Snow Pokemon sternly who quickly settled in for a battle as well. "Where do you think it'll come from?" Trip questioned as he stood next to Gary, observing the scene in front of them warily.

"Don't know, could come from anywhere." Gary said as calmly as possible.

That was when a loud roar sounded from behind them, causing avalanches nearby but luckily not on them.

TMS

"Bonnie! Don't go too far!" Clemont called out as his little sister wandered further ahead of him than he was comfortable with.

"Don't worry big bro! I'll be fine!" She called back towards him as she continued to move forward with Dedenne on top of her head chirping happily. "I'm just looking out for any Pokemon that I might want to join my team!" She explained with a grin.

"Yeah well, you remember the last time we came up here, don't you?" He questioned as he adjusted his goggles to help keep his vision clear. A shiver went up both the siblings' spines as they thought about the last time they had come to visit a few months back.

"Yeah." Bonnie said as she turned and ran back over to him so that they could walk together. "I don't think any of my Pokemon are strong enough to take it on again."

"Neither are mine, except maybe Luxray and even then it would be a close thing." Clemont sighed as he reached over and ruffled his sister's hair, causing her to squeal and almost knock the electric type from her head. "Well, we'll just try and avoid it this time around and pray that it isn't hunting around this area at the moment."

A roar shook the air around them, causing the hair on their arms and necks to rise in terror. "Come on bro, let's get to Ash now!" Bonnie all but screamed as she tugged at her brother's arm.

"Yeah, let's hurry." Clemont agreed as the two of them took off running up the mountain.

TMS

"Holy Miltank!" Trip shouted as he stared up at the Armor Pokemon in horror. "What's a Tyranitar doing so far up the mountain?"

"I don't know but I think we should run." Gary said as he turned to do just that but was stopped as the Pokemon fired a Hyper beam that hit both of their Pokemon and instantly knocked them out. "No, Electivire!" Gary shouted as Trip cradled his Vanillite in his arms. "We've gotta get out of here, I don't think any of our Pokemon are strong enough to take this guy on." Gary admitted as he backed away after recalling his unconscious Pokemon.

Trip nodded his head in agreement and recalled his own Pokemon, both moving to run but was stopped as another Hyper beam blocked their escape route. "I don't think he wants us to run away." The photographer said with a hint of nerves in his voice.

"Then we fight." Gary stated as he pulled out another Pokeball and released the strongest Pokemon on his team. "Blastoise, use hydro pump." Gary ordered instantly. The water type did as told without question and fired, only to stare in shock as a sandstorm stopped the attack just enough that it did little damage. "What is up with this Pokemon?" Gary shouted as it stamped a foot and caused an Earthquake that knocked his Blastoise onto its back and then was hit with a thunder punch, knocking him out.

"We need to get out of here now!" Trip shouted as Blastoise was recalled, looking for anyway to get out of there without being hurt.

Gary snarled as he looked at the looming Tyranitar. 'I don't think we can get away.' Gary thought as he fingered another Pokeball, trying to figure out if he could somehow land a hit on this powerhouse of a Pokemon without damaging his Pokemon too much.

That was about the time a water shuriken slammed into the back of Tyranitar and sent it skidding forward like a rock on water. "You saw that…right?" Trip questioned as he looked at where Tyranitar laid on the ground, struggling to stand back up on its feet.

"Yep." Gary said as he looked over to where the armor Pokemon lay. "What is strong enough to take on a powerhouse like that?" Gary questioned as he looked over at the cave entrance where three figures appeared. "Huh, should have figured Ash would be our hero." Gary said as said person appeared with Paul and a Greninja.

"That's nice to know that we can't leave you guys alone for five minutes." Paul snarled as he looked at them and then back at the Tyranitar with a certain look in his eyes. "Has this guy been causing problems up here?" He questioned as he glanced back at Ash.

Ash nodded his head in agreement before tilting his head at Greninja. Obviously he was indicating that the water type would handle the Tyranitar each time. "What if I take it with me when I leave?" Paul questioned as he pulled out an ultra-ball from a pouch. "Would that be alright?"

Ash made no move to answer for a long time until he finally nodded his head in agreement. Paul wasted no time and threw his Pokeball at the Armor Pokemon with terrifying accuracy. The ball hit it in the side and the Pokemon disappeared in a flash of red. They all watched as the ball shook.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then the bing sounded in a successful capture.

Paul smirked as he walked over and picked up the Pokeball, frowning at the red middle that indicated that he'd be unable to release the Pokemon out of the ball until he went and sent a Pokemon over to his brother to create room on his team. He shrugged and latched the ball onto his belt before turning to the others. "Shall we return to the summit then?" He questioned.

Ash just nodded his head as he and Greninja turned and disappeared back into the caves of Mt. Silver with the other three right behind him.

TMS 

"Yay! We finally made it!" Bonnie exclaimed as she ran around the clearing of Mt. Silver. "Ash! Hey Ash! We're here!" Bonnie called out but frowned when a figure did not quickly appear. "Ash! Are you here?" She called down the cave before entering and heading down towards the Pokemon dwelling. She looked around quickly but did not see Ash.

"Is he in there?" Clemont questioned as he came up next to her. "When did he get an Umbreon?" He questioned next as he looked at the Moonlight Pokemon with a raised brow.

"He's not here." Bonnie informed as she looked at the cuddling Pokemon with blinking eyes. "I think Ash might be getting an egg." She said next as she pointed at the little brown and tan colored object between the two Pokemon.

"Huh, guess so." Clemont said as he pulled out his Pokeballs and released all of his Pokemon. "Go mingle you guys. Luxray, can you see if you can find Ash nearby?" He questioned his electric type Pokemon.

"Lux." It nodded as it used its extrasensory to look through the mountain walls before tilting its head in curiosity. "Ray, lux lux ray." It said as it turned and led them out of the cave to stand in front of the one that they came out of earlier.

"So he's on his way back then." Clemont stated as he watched the cave. Luxray nodded his head as he took a seat next to him while Bonnie ran up to the cave and called into it.

"Ash! We're here!" She called out happily.

"DeDe!" Dedenne called out next.

"I wanna show you the new Pokemon I caught earlier!" She shouted next as five figures began to appear in the dark. "There you are! Who are the others with you though?" She questioned as she watched Ash's figure began to be more defined.

' _Friends.'_ Ash signed to her. ' _They are with me.'_

"Ah, are these the people who called big bro earlier?" She questioned and smiled as she received a nod of the head. "Well hurry up then! Big brother is waiting for you guys." She ran back over to Clemont where the two siblings waited for the other group to appear.

"So you're Lumiose City's Gym Leader." Gary Oak said as he appeared behind Ash and Greninja. "You're a little earlier than I expected."

"Yes, that would be me." Clemont said as he walked forward and patted Ash on the shoulder with a smile. "Good to see you again Ash, hope you've been holding up well."

Ash nodded his head before looking around the blonde towards the little girl behind him. ' _You said you had a new Pokemon? Do you want to practice with me and show me?'_ Ash signed again.

Bonnie nodded her head in excitement as she led the raven haired male away from the group and pulled out a Pokeball, Greninja was ready as it stepped in front of Ash. "Here we go Caterpie!" Bonnie yelled as she released the little bug.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Gary said with a little laugh while Trip tried to smother a laugh behind his hand.

Paul just frowned at the weak bug. "She's going to battle Ash with a Pokemon…A Caterpie that she just caught?"

"Yep. Ash is helping her train to get stronger." Clemont explained as he turned and watched Greninja prepare to fight. "Ash has become so strong that he is capable of limiting his Pokemon's power for training purposes."

Just then Bonnie called out a command. "String shot Caterpie!" The little bug shot out the sticky string that wrapped around Greninja's hands and stuck them to his side. "Now use bug bite." She commanded eagerly as the little Worm Pokemon launched itself at the water type but squeaked in surprise when a low powered water gun shot from Greninja's mouth slammed into it and back to the ground. "Don't give up yet! Use string shot to stop Greninja from shooting anymore water guns."

Caterpie did as said and soon the water type was covered in the sticky string and 'unable' to move. "Now use tackle and then bug bite!" She exclaimed and watched as the tackle landed successfully and then the bug bite began as Caterpie crawled all over Greninja and began to bite him.

Greninja was twitching at this point and it was obvious it was trying not to laugh to the older trainers while Bonnie cheered for her worm happily. Ash just stood aside and watched with a smile on his face as she commanded her Pokemon.

She then shrieked as her Pokemon was tossed off and the others laughed as Greninja cut himself out of the string using Cut, the kunai shaped attack appeared in both webbed hands. Greninja then leapt forward as he swiped at the little worm. "Dodge!" Bonnie shrieked and the little worm threw itself out of the way and just barely got out of the way. "Tackle!"

Greninja allowed the attack to hit and pretended to stumble from the attack and swiftly hit the worm with a soft kick that sent it into the air. "Use String Shot at Greninja and use it to swing yourself down to safety."

"Creative, I'll give her that much." Gary said with a smirk as the string shot wrapped around one of the Ninja Pokemon's arms and landed back on the snowy ground safely.

Clemont chuckled as the Greninja then used the string to swing the little Caterpie into Bonnie's arm. "Yeah, Ash has had a hand in that. He's been training her for some time and now I'm sure she'd be able to take on any gym leader no matter their level of experience and beat them. Though she might have a bit of trouble since she hasn't been training her Pokemon lately."

"How come?" Trip questioned as he took a picture of Bonnie and Caterpie nuzzling each other happily.

"Because she's been Rhyhorn racing and training in that for some time now. She even carries a Rhyhorn on her all the time so she can train in that whenever." He explained easily as Bonnie allowed Caterpie to settle on her shoulder and called out a different Pokemon while Greninja walked to the side to allow Ash to release a different Pokemon.

The Pokemon that came out had a shiny black shell and glowing orange skin with black smoke coming out of the top of its black shell and its nose. "Torkoal!" The fire turtle yelled as it stomped it's front feet.

"Whoa, that Torkoal is sure healthy looking, not to mention big." Trip said as he took pictures of the said Pokemon quickly. "I've never seen a shell like that shine so brightly."

"It'll make for a good defense then." Paul stated easily.

"Yep." Gary agreed easily "A Torkoal's shell is its main defense and can be used in attacks. If one can take care of the shell, that is, properly. The shine of the shell indicates the care given and I've only even seen one other shell shine like this one's. Boy let me tell you that Torkoal has a mighty defense as well."

"You're talking about Flannery from Lavaridge Town, aren't you." Paul stated calmly as he remembered his own battle with the gym leader.

"That's right. It took me using my Blastoise's Hydro Pump to take that thing out and that's only after it went through two of my other Pokemon." Gary admitted with a frown.

Clemont raised a brow but looked away from the two and instead to Gary with a frown. "You wanted to talk to me about something concerning Ash?"

The young scientist nodded his head in agreement. "I want to know what happened during that time when Ash lost his memory. What caused it?"

Clemont frowned and looked back towards where Ash and Bonnie were training together, her Rhyhorn now out on the field and rearing to go. "It was about three years ago…at the Kalos League Incident." He began as he watched Rhyhorn attack Torkoal with Horn attack but was stopped by Torkoal's withdraw. "It was chaos all around. People were dying and we were doing our best to save as many as we could. None of us had realized that Ash had been kidnapped during everything."

"This was when the legendary Pokemon, Zygarde, showed up and began attacking Lumiose, right?" Gary questioned as the group became deathly serious while listening to Bonnie cheered her Pokemon on in the training battle. "That's when that one girl, Serena, was killed."

Paul and Trip looked startled at that as Clemont nodded his head. "That's right. I was busy hacking into my gym due to it being taken over by team Flare at the time. Serena had taken a girl, Mairin, a friend of ours, to go and rescue her Chespin at a Flare base. Bonnie was with her friend…Squishy…and Ash…I'm not quite sure what happened to him up on the tower."

"Do you know who might know what happened up there?" Paul questioned next, his own interest piquing at this story. He wanted to know why the once boisterous Ash Ketchum never talked nor jumped around like he used to.

Clemont nodded his head. "Bonnie was never up at the top of tower and so doesn't know what happened with him. Ash…he didn't remember at the time. It doesn't help that whatever happened…it stole him of his voice."

"Stole him of his voice?" The three others stated in unison.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Gary questioned with wide eyes while Trip and Paul merely narrowed their own.

Clemont shook his head. "Something happened that day and since then…well…Ash not only lost his memories but his ability to speak. The first time he tried to explain he wasn't able to say a word. There was no physical injury that could cause this so the doctors think it has more mental trauma to do with it than physical." He explained.

"Okay, well, who was there to see what happened?" Trip questioned as he got them back on track. They needed the full story and the only way to do that was to find out who knew the whole story.

"I didn't get up there in time and when I did finally get into my tower, I had a different job to do." Clemont continued on as he turned back to watch Bonnie order her Rhyhorn to spin the Torkoal while still with held in its shell and to keep spinning it as fast as it could. Clemont couldn't help but laugh at his little sister's creative mind. "The only other person up on the tower with him…well…he's rather difficult to get a hold of."

"Who is he?" Gary questioned, determined to get any information to help his friend. He didn't care if he had to travel all over the world, into the deepest cave, up to the heavens if he had to, to help his friend.

"Ah, well, his name is Alan Rickman." Clemont stated as Torkoal came out of his shell shaking his head. Ash recalled the fire type and Bonnie got the hint and recalled her Rhyhorn and instead sent out a Skiddo. "He's been traveling to try and find a way to cure Ash as well but so far he hasn't found anything either."

"How can we get a hold of him?" Gary questioned as he got up into Clemont's face. He wasn't going to hold back and neither were Paul and Trip as they too got closer so that they had Clemont surrounded.

Clemont gulped before glancing at Ash. "I've only seen Ash be able to get a hold of him through his Charizard." He explained. "For some reason Charizard is able to track Alan's Charizard. If we send him out, we should see Alan in a couple of days or so."

Gary nodded his head in understanding before walking over to where Ash and Bonnie were now pitting her Skiddo against Ash's Heracross. He stepped up next to a watching Ash. "Can I borrow your Charizard?" He asked bluntly.

Ash glanced at him before nodding his head, tilting his head towards the cave. "Thanks Ash, I'll be back as soon as I can." Gary said as he ran over to the cave before returning outside with Charizard right behind him. "Let's go big guy." Gary said as he hopped onto the Fire Types back and they flew off into the sky.

"Did Gary just ditch us?" Trip question as he watched the two disappear.

"I think he just did." Clemont said with a sigh. "It seems that any of Ash's friends are quite unique."

"No kidding." Paul agreed as he watched the Skiddo land a stomp on Heracross and pushed the bug type into the ground.

TMS

"Come on, almost there." Alan said to himself as he climbed up the cliff he had tripped over earlier that day. He had caught himself on a branch that had held his weight, and from there he had climbed back up towards the top so that he could continue his search.

The thing he was looking for, the thing that could help his friend that he had injured, was somewhere in this forest and if he could find it…well…Ash could possibly be healed. All he had to do was find Xerneas in this forest and he could finally help his friend heal.

And then a rock broke from underneath his foot.

"Damn it!" Alan shouted as he began to freefall once more.

TMS 

A.N. Another cliffhanger. Are you guys going to kill me or something? Cause I keep doing this to you all the time! Sheesh I'm a bitch. Anyways. Review and tell me what you think. I can't wait to see what you all have to say. Until next time!


	6. Battle for Trip

Chapter Six

Battle for Trip

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" Alan shouted as the wind whistled in his ears and whipped his hair around his face. "Why the hell does this happen to me all the time!" He shouted as he struggled to get his hands to his Pokeball belt. Despite what the movies made it seem like, it was not easy to coordinate his limbs with the wind bludgeoning at his body. "Come on!"

He looked down at the ground again and gulped in fear as it got ever closer. "Damn it! Charizard!" He yelled as he tried to unlatch the Pokeball again, only for his hands to be hit by a vicious buff of air. "Damn it!"

He closed his eyes as he forced his hands to cooperate and move towards his belt. He cried in victory as his hand got a hold of his belt.

Only for it to not matter as his body slammed into something, knocking all the air out of his body. "Hey, look Charizard, we caught a human!" A voice cheered just to the left of Alan. "Take us up Charizard and we'll take a break on the cliff."

"Oh…god…no." Alan wheezed out as pried one eye open, staring at the ground as it flew away from him just as quickly as it had been approaching moments ago. "Not…the…cliff."

It was silent for a moment but Alan was able to watch as they passed by the cliff and instead flew off into the forest before coming to a clearing and landing. The Researcher wasted no time in rolling off of the fire type and onto the ground. "It seems like you enjoyed your little flight." The voice said as a shadow covered him, indicating a person was now standing over him. The sound of a Charizard yawning made Alan feel even worse as it was obvious that this wasn't nearly a harrowing experience for these two as it was for him.

He groaned in both pain and annoyance at the voice and the thought of being in such a situation in first place. "Shut up." He grunted as he brought his hands to help cover his closed eyes, enjoying the darkness as he reoriented himself. "God, I can't believe that happened."

"Eh, it seems that you're fine now at least." The voice said and Alan could hear the other moving and sitting on the ground next to him. "Good thing we were coming to look for you anyways or you could be a pancake at the moment."

The caught Alan's attention as he moved his hands just enough and tilted his head so that he could see the figure sitting next to him, along with the very familiar huge ass Charizard now laying on the ground, watching the two of them. "Gary Oak." Alan said as he stared at the researcher and Gym Leader with furrowed brows. "Why would you be looking for me? Especially with Ash's Charizard?"

"Oh, so you recognize the Charizard, do you?" Gary questioned with a grin on his face and with his hands holding him up as he leaned back with his legs outstretched in front of him. "That's good to know and since you used Ash's name, I can safely assume you are indeed Alan Rickman, Kalos's Champion."

Alan scowled but nodded his head in agreement. "I am. What does a famous researcher and Gym Leader want with me though? Last I heard you were busy taking on the legend that lived up on that Mt. Silver."

"And you know exactly who that legend is." Gary stated as his face turned serious and he turned his entire body so that it was facing Alan, legs now crossed Indian style. "You know who he is and you know exactly what happened to him, don't you?" Gary grilled as he leaned forward so that he was partially leaning over the Champion.

"So what if I do?" Alan asked back, eyes narrowing as he sat up, ignoring the headache he had from his fall and now this annoyance. He knew of Gary Oak and his past with Ash, but he also knew about the harsh things that this other man had done to his friend. He only wanted to help and protect Ash, not hurt him anymore than he already had. "It's obvious you know exactly who he is as well due to Charizard over there." He nodded at the laying lizard, who huffed out a puff of flame in greeting.

"Yeah, I do." Gary agreed as he put his hands on his knees and leant forward even more. Alan thought the other would fall face first into the ground soon if he leaned anymore. "I want to know what happened to cause him to become what he is now. I want to know what happened up on Lumiose Tower."

Alan sighed before he rubbed at his face and then stood up from where he was laying on the ground. "I don't have time to explain." He stated finally, pulling out a Pokeball and releasing a Metagross. "Use extrasensory, see if you can't sense it out." He said to the metal type, watching as its eyes glowed a deep purple in concentration.

"Wow, nice looking Metagross there. Looks strong." Gary said as he stood up as well and looked the Iron Leg Pokemon over. He took in the size, shine, and color of the Pokemon before nodding his head, impressed by the strength of the Pokemon. "As expected of a Champion, a very strong Pokemon."

"Thanks." Alan said as he held the bridge of his nose, trying to get rid of his headache.

Gary looked over to the black haired teen, taking in the long sleeved black shirt with a blue vest, blue jeans, and heavy duty hiking boots. He wore black gloves and had a blue plaid scarf wrapped around his neck. His black hair was kept short and out of his face while his blue eyes glowed with frustration and exhaustion. "You know, whatever it is that you're after, you might not find it in the condition that you're in right now." Gary said as he walked over to Charizard and picked up his backpack and opened it up. He pulled out a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water. "Here, take these and drink some water, it should help."

Alan stared at the offered items before nodding his head and taking them. He swallowed the pills with the water and then poured some of the liquid on his head, breathing at the cooling effect it had on his heated and sweaty skin. "Thanks." He said after he had chugged some more water. "It's been a stressful few weeks." He explained as he looked back at Gary. "So you wanted to know what happened to Ash, why?"  
Gary kept Alan's eye contact as he answered, feeling that his answer would be important. "Because after everything we've been through, all the crap we've put each other through, all the pain and heartache and tough times, I owe him a lot and he owes me a lot. We were friends, close to brothers really, but then we went our separate ways and pushed each other to be better in a rival setting. He was my brother, friend, rival, and a lot of other things. I want to help him because of that. He would do the same for me if I was in his position." Gary explained passionately.

Alan looked at the other for long moments before nodding his head. "I see. If you want to help him, then help me find Xerneas."

Gary blinked in surprise at that name before tilting his head. "Isn't that a legendary Pokemon? The one here in Kalos?"  
"Yes." The other replied quickly, looking at his Metagross before turning back to Gary. "It's the Fairy type Legendary Pokemon and it's been known to cure almost everything. It has cured cancer and other illnesses. Desolate forests have been restored by it walking through it. Pokemon have been saved from the brink of death from its healing pulse." Alan answered reverently. "I was thinking that if I can convince it to visit Ash and have it help him…it might cure what was done to him." He explained with a frown and his face became shadowed as he remembered what happened.

"I see. It's worth a shot at least." Gary said as he held his chin between a thumb and forefinger. "But what exactly happened to Ash? Why can't he talk anymore and why are his memories gone?"

Alan frowned as his mind went back to that day, back to the fighting and the screams and the blood that dripped to the floor. His face paled and his lips thinned as he turned to look at Gary. "It was all my fault that Ash is the way he is."

TMS

"So…do you think that he'll be back soon?" Trip asked Clemont as the two watched Bonnie rub down her Pokemon, Ash helping her, inside of the cave that held all of the Pokemon in it. Trip had finished rubbing down his own Pokemon while Clemont was still working on the knots in his Luxray's fur.

"Who? Gary or Paul?" The inventor questioned and looked up at the younger boy. "Gary could be gone for a while yet. Alan could be anywhere in the world and though Charizard is fast, it still takes him some time to get to certain places. Paul should be back later tonight, he only went down to the Poke Center."

Trip scowled but got the answer he wanted anyways. "Paul is more than capable of taking care of himself, but I want to know what happened with Ash. He was such a loser but now he's…" He trailed off in thought.

"A champion among champions?" Clemont questioned with a smirk. "Happens when you isolate yourself with only your Pokemon and do nothing but train all the time."

Trip shrugged in annoyance but then turned when Bonnie squealed. "Are you sure Ash?" She questioned as the trainer held out a tan and brown egg to the little girl. He nodded his head. "That's so cool of you Ash! I promise I'll take good care of it when it hatches!" She squealed again as she hugged the egg close to her body.

The Espeon and Umbreon watched as the egg was handed to the little girl. Espeon made a sound of contentment while Umbreon watched with wariness, wondering if the egg would be okay with the little girl. "Remember to be gentle with it Bonnie! You don't want to break it!" Clemont said with a frown.

Bonnie smiled at her brother and nodded. "I know big bro! But what am I going to do now? I don't have an incubator to use on it!"

"You'll have to wait until we get to the Poke Center later then." Clemont said with a shrug.

"Or you could use mine." Trip offered as he walked over to his backpack and pulled out a little red square that had four holes on for of the sides and four buttons on the top of it that correlated to the holes on the side. He pressed one of the buttons and out came an incubator. "I'm not using it anymore and if I get another egg…I'll just get another incubator." He said as he offered it to the little girl.

"Thank you so much! This'll help keep the egg warm and comfy!" Bonnie exclaimed in excitement as she took the lid and glass tube off and settled the egg onto the black cushion. Once she was sure that the egg was in a comfortable position and settled firmly, she settled the glass and lid over it and then sealed it until it was ready to hatch. "This is so great! I can't wait to have my own Eevee!"

"Those are pretty versatile Pokemon as well." Clemont stated as he pointed at the two Eeveelutions to use as an example. "There's those two, Espeon and Umbreon of course. They evolve depending on the level of friendship and trust between the trainer and Pokemon and then the time of the day as well. You get Espeon during the day and Umbreon during the night."  
"Then there's the original three. Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon. Electric, fire, and water type respectively." Trip added in. "You have to have an evolution stone to get one of those three."

"And then there's Glaceon, Leafeon, and Sylveon. Ice, grass, and fairy. Glaceon and Leafeon you have to find special rocks in Ice caves or a forest while Sylveon takes the Pokemon brimming with Love for their trainer to evolve." Clemont finished. "All are great choices and you'll have your pick when you hatch that egg and train it."  
"Oh man! That's a lot of pressure to put on a Pokemon!" Bonnie said with surprise. "I think I'll ask him what he'll want when he's ready."

Ash settled a hand on her shoulder and nodded at her in agreement as he tilted his head at his own Pokemon. It was obvious that he was saying that was how he had gotten Espeon. He had allowed the little Eevee he had to evolve when she was ready and then allowed her to do so. He didn't care and the little psychic type had grown in strength.

"Okay, so now what?" Trip asked as it was obvious everyone had finished grooming their Pokemon and now they were all eating as well. "We have to wait for someone to come back and tell us anything! Is there anything that we can do until someone returns?"

All were quiet for a long moment until Ash's head twitched towards the entrance and he began moving. He stopped long enough to grab a single Pokeball and left the cave. The others followed directly behind him.

"Any clue on what's going on?" Trip questioned as he watched Ash enter into the snowstorm.

"A challenger." Clemont said as he motioned for Trip to stay in the cave. "Obviously not someone he knows or he would have taken more than one Pokeball with him."

"How are we going to watch?"

"Espeon!" Bonnie called and the Psychic type ran up with glowing blue eyes. They watched as the snowstorm stopped and revealed Ash facing a teen wearing the bottom half of a Nidoking costume and wearing a blue baseball cap backwards.

"Come on Nidoking! Use Earthquake!" the boy yelled as the ground type roared and stomped on the ground. The three watching had to brace themselves as the Nidoking shook the ground ferociously. All the while a little yellow rodent kept its balance, looking as if it was hardly moving, all the way through the earthquake. "What the heck!" The trainer yelled as soon as the attack had finished and no visible damage seemed to have been done to Pikachu. "Why isn't that Pikachu unconscious?"  
Ash didn't move or make a sound as Pikachu suddenly ran straight at the Nidoking and slammed an iron tail straight into the surprise poison type's face. They all watched as the Pokemon instantly knocked out cold. "Fast." Trip muttered to himself as he remembered just what kind of damage Ash's Pokemon could do now.

"Nidoking!" the kid yelled before recalling it and then throwing out another Pokemon. "Come on Buizel, we'll show him! Use a water gun and then go into aqua jet!" They watched as the orange weasel fired off the water gun, only to watch as Pikachu dodged the attack and then fired off a lightning bolt that sent the water covered weasel flying into the ground, out cold. "No! Come back Buizel!"

"Oh man, that kid doesn't stand a chance." Clemont stated with pity. "He must've only been a trainer for a short time before coming here."

"All right, this is all up to you now! Come on out Typhlosion!" The kid yelled out as the fire type appeared with a roar.

"Not bad looking." Trip admitted but then looked back into the cave. "Though Ash's Quilava looks way better."

"Comes from a lot of training." Clemont muttered as the fire type shot out a flame thrower.

Pikachu didn't even wait for the attack to get near him before disappearing and slamming an iron tail into the other Pokemon, sending it flying like the Nidoking and knocking him out. "Ouch. That's going to hurt that Pokemon's pride, taken out by a move that it's supposed to be weak against." Clemont empathized with it.

"Just you wait! I'll be back after me and my Pokemon get stronger and we'll beat you! Just you wait and see!" The trainer said as he called his Pokemon back and then took off running back into the cave.

That's the moment when two Pokemon ran passed the three watching trainers and after the one taking off. "Where are those two going?" Trip questioned as he watched the Pokemon trail after the trainer in the shadows.

"Most trainers who come to fight Ash have no capable Pokemon left to make it safely back to ground level." Bonnie explained as she waved after Greninja and Infernape, both of whom waved back before disappearing. "Ash has Pokemon follow them back so they don't get hurt by any wild Pokemon."

"This way they make it safely and can get their Pokemon healed without damaging them any further." Clemont added on.

"That's a good idea." Trip agreed before walking out into the snow and to the cliff where Ash was staring off into the sky, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder watching with him. "What are you looking at?" Trip questioned as he looked out into the sky with Ash.

The other trainer glanced at him before turning and walking into the cave once more. Trip looked after him, offended by the non answer he got from the other. "What the heck is that about?" He questioned as he put his hands on his hips and glared after Ash.

"No clue." Bonnie said as she held the incubator with her egg in it. "He can be really unpredictable sometimes, not even Brock can guess what he's think sometimes." She admitted with a shrug.

Clemont nodded before he walked towards the cave as well. "I'm going to go and work on something. Come and get me if you need something or something goes wrong Bonnie." He said and disappeared as well.

"Wow, everyone is leaving now, aren't they?" Trip muttered as he looked back at the sky, missing the return of a silent trainer.

"Hey Trip." Bonnie said as she watched Ash take his normal place for battling, six Pokeballs latched onto his belt. "I think Ash actually wants to battle you."

Trip blinked before turning towards the other trainer, catching the tilt and smirk on the other's face before he waved at the area where most of his challengers stood when he fought them. "A battle huh?" He questioned as he looked at Ash and then down at his belt, unsure if his Pokemon would be able to handle it. What was he thinking, of course they couldn't, but that shouldn't stop him from trying. "Alright, why not." He said as he walked over to the 'Challenger's' spot and faced Ash.

Ash nodded his head before grabbing a Pokeball and releasing the Pokemon inside. The brown and grey feathers of Unfezant shimmered in the sun shining down on the two, the sky uncommonly clear at the moment. "Huh, I haven't seen that one in a while." Trip muttered as he pulled out a Pokeball and threw it out. "Vanillite, time to battle." He stated as the little ice type appeared with a coo and smile. "Blizzard! Then go into sheer cold." Trip commanded and watched at the little Fresh Snow Pokemon breathed deeply and then blew outwards a large blizzard that struck straight at the flying type.

Trip was unsurprised when the Female Unfezant drifted in the blizzard, seemingly having no trouble traversing the turbulent currents of air and ignoring the frost gathering on its feathers. Trip then watched as the Blizzard turned into Sheer Cold that white out everything around the two Pokemon. The photographer had to cover his face so that the subzero degree move didn't burn his face off.

Once the move came to a halt, Trip was staring at his exhausted ice type and a frost covered Unfezant that was flapping its wings lazily in the air. "Damn, not even a one hit K.O. move can take his Pokemon out." Trip muttered as the Proud Pokemon's wings turned a silver color and slammed into Vanillite, knocking out the little Pokemon. "Return, good job." Trip said as he watched Ash recall his Pokemon and then threw out another.

"Seems Unova is the theme of this battle." Trip said as he stared at the Emboar huffing a puff of flames at him. "So that gives me a bit of an advantage in knowing which Pokemon you'll use." Trip muttered as he called out his next Pokemon.

The Muscular Pokemon glared at the fire type as it slammed its two cinderblock clubs into the ground with a grunt. "We've got a tough one here Conkeldurr, be ready to fight with everything you have." The fighting type grunted and nodded before tensing it's muscles. "Alright, let's go with a Dynamic Punch that goes into a Hammer arm." Trip decided and watched as the Muscular Pokemon drop one of its Cinder Black rods and allowed its fists to glow a bright white, moving to slam it into the Emboar's body.

The Emboar narrowed its eyes as its own arms began to glow bright white, indicating a hammer arm on both arms. Trip watched in amazement as the double typed Pokemon block the dynamic punch and hammer arm with its own hammer arm and then blow a large stream of fire into Conkeldurr's face, causing the fighting type to fall backwards out cold. "That was amazing." Trip breathed out as he recalled his unconscious Pokemon, trying to figure out how a Pokemon could use Hammer arm with both arms when normally it was a one arm attack.

He shook his head as the Emboar disappeared and instead a little blue and white otter appeared and smirked at him with a tilt of his head. "Oshawott huh…still as ugly as ever." Trip stated bluntly, causing the Sea Otter to face fault into the ground. "Serperior, your turn." The Regal Pokemon appeared with a huff and stared down at the crying water type with disdain. "Don't underestimate it, this Pokemon belongs to Ash and all of his other Pokemon are powerful despite their appearance." Trip stated.

The snake nodded and waited for the commands. "Alright, use Sweet Scent and then go into Glare. We'll weaken it as much as we can!" Trip decided and watched as the Oshawott sniffed happily at the sweet scent that began to surround it, lulling it into a false sense of security and dropping evasiveness. Then the Sea Otter froze as two red eyes glared down at it and shook in horror at the hate and disdain in the eyes. Trip smiled as Oshawott now seemed paralyzed.

"Now! Go into Frenzy Plant!" Trip shouted and the Regal Pokemon slammed its tail into the ground, summoning massive vines that swept towards the little otter frozen in fear.

Scenes from a past battle, similar to this one, flashed in the water types mind. It had been frozen in fear and unable to do anything as it was battered all over the place by a grass type. It had lost that battle and its beloved trainer had lost the battle.

It couldn't let it happen again!

Oshawott watched the vines for several seconds in terror before it closed its eyes and roared with all of its might.

Trip watched in horror as the water type was enveloped with a white glow and the shape of the Pokemon began to change. "It's evolving!" Bonnie shouted in excitement as the figure jumped into the air as the vines slammed where it had stood only seconds ago. Trip could only watched as the figure flew down at the vines with now glowing blue blades at its side, chopping the vines apart as it moved towards Serperior in speeds it didn't have before.

Serperior cried out in pain as the blades sliced into it and it fell, unconscious.

Trip stared as the white glow disappeared and revealed the newly evolved Dewott holding its Shell Blades. It smirked at him and struck an impressive pose as its blue fur shined in the sun.

Trip smirked and shook his head. "Still ugly." He replied, watching in amusement as the Dewott face planted and then looked at him with tears in its eyes and then running over to its trainer. Ash patted it on the head with a smile, causing the Dewott to smile proudly at its trainer.

"So you finally decided to battle him." Trip startled from the scene in front of him, camera in hand as he took pictures, and turned to look at the familiar lilac haired trainer.

"He pretty much forced me to, so yeah." Trip nodded as he turned back to watch the Dewott be patted once more before recalled. A new Pokemon soon appeared and Trip couldn't help but stare at the bug type in front of him. "Alright, come on out Unfezant!" Trip yelled as his mask adorned bird appeared with a piercing squawk. "Alright! Let's start with Gust then go into Sky Attack." He shouted as Paul walked over to stand next to Bonnie, both watching the battle.

"What have I missed so far?" He questioned the little girl as they watched the Proud Pokemon release the gust and then fly up into the air and then dive, becoming covered in blue energy.

"Well, Ash fought with an Unfezant and beat Trip's Vanillite, then Emboar beat Conkeldurr, and then Oshawott evolved into Dewott and beat Serperior!" She exclaimed as she watched Leavanny dodge to the side and hit the flying type in the back with an X-Scissor that knocked it out instantly. "And now Leavanny beat Unfezant."

Paul nodded his head as Ash recalled the Bug type and sent out a ground type next. Krookodile snickered as he looked at Trip, adjusting its black sunglasses casually. "That's a cool looking Pokemon." Paul muttered as he looked at it. "If I'm right, then it originates from Unova."

"That's right, that's Krookodile, Ash's cool Pokemon." Bonnie said as she giggled. "It thinks it looks really cool with those sunglasses that it wears all the time." She explained to his raised brow.

"Ah." Paul said as he watched Trip bring out his Frillish. "Not a bad choice to fight."  
"What is that?" Bonnie said as she pointed her Pokedex at the Pokemon. She had been doing this to most of Trip's Pokemon and she enjoyed the chance to fill up her Pokedex more.

 _"Frillish, the Floating Pokémon. Frillish can constrict its foes using its veil-like tentacles and numb them with poison. It is said to live in dens some five miles below sea level."_

"So a water type." Bonnie said as a thick mist covered the ground and then rose up into the air to hide everything. "What the, where did all of this mist come from."

"Frillish." Paul replied calmly. "It's a move that can be used by Pokemon and effects the field. Trip must be trying to go incognito to take out that Krookodile."

"Won't wo~rk." Bonnie sang with a giggle. "Ash knows how to get around moves like this so it won't have any affect."  
Paul didn't say anything and instead listened closely to see if he could hear anything. "Frillish, use surf." Trip said as soon as he was sure the Mist had the entire field covered.

He didn't get a reply from his Frillish but he could see a shadow rising up from the ground and then the sound of splashing water hitting the ground. The mist disappeared and soon revealed Frillish floating above a mudding and soaked ground, a lot of the snow had disappeared due to the water melting it and converting it into more water to be used.

Krookodile was no where to be seen. "What in the world!" Trip shouted just as a figure burst from the ground underneath Frillish and teeth sunk into the Floating Pokemon viciously. "NO!" Trip shouted as the water type shouted and then fainted from the Crunch attack.

Krookodile's body shook and a grating sound came from it, indicating that it was laughing. IT was soon recalled and Trip recalled his water type back to its Pokeball. "Looks like you learned to dodge attacks." He nodded at Ash.

Ash didn't say anything except to raise a hand up into the air and snap his fingers. Pikachu appeared with a twitch of his tail and stared at Trip expectantly.

Trip smirked as he pulled out his next Pokeball, this one he hadn't brought out at all as he had wanted to surprise Paul and now Ash with the newest addition to his team. "Alright then! Come on out!" He released the Pokemon and smirk as it stomped its hooves into the ground. "What do you think about my new friend here?"

Ash didn't make a sound and instead him and Pikachu waited.

Trip scowled before sighing. "Alright then, Bouffalant! Use Earth Quake and go into Iron Head!" Trip commanded and watched the Bash Buffalo roar as it slammed its two from hooves into the ground, shaking the ground and causing Paul and Bonnie to struggle from being thrown into the ground.

They watched as Pikachu kept its balance, tail swinging back and forth behind it and then watched as the Bouffalant's head began to glow silver. Pikachu held its ground as the normal type stampeded towards it, not flinching away until the last second.

Trip watched in horror as the electric rodent's tail glowed silver and met the Brash Buffalo's own attack head on and then pushed the much larger Pokemon back and out cold. "Damn, and I trained with Alder's Bouffalant too." He groused as he recalled his normal type and then nodded at Ash. "Good battle."

Ash nodded his head with a smile before his head turned back towards the sky with Pikachu returning to his shoulder.

"Why does he do that!?" Trip exclaimed with his shoved in his jacket pockets.

"No clue but I think it might have to do with him trying to remember things." Clemont said as he appeared out of the cave with a device in his hands and a smile on his face.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bonnie questioned with an excited gleam in her eyes. "Did you get it to work this time?"

"I think so." Clemont said with a smile. "It worked when I hooked it up to myself so I wanted to have Ash try it." He said calmly as he walked over to the said trainer. "Hey Ash, can you turn around for me?"

Ash turned towards the blonde and tilted his head, taking in the over suit that was half hanging at his waist and the blue tank top he was wearing. Clemont smiled with a shrug before reaching over and attaching something around Ash's neck and then placing a thing that looked like wireless headphones around his head, settling it on top of his ears. "Alright, let me just turn it on." He muttered as he did so.

Ash only watched this with blank eyes while Pikachu moved out of the way when needed but stayed on his trainer. There was a beep and the red collar around Ash's neck lit up with a gentle white glow and the wire around his head had two red lights coming from the ends of them.

 _"What are you doing Clemont?"_

TMS

Gary stared at the other trainer with a stony expression before walking up to him and grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up as much as he could. Alan was taller than Gary so it wasn't a whole lot. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DID THAT TO ASH!?" Gary shouted.

"I'm the reason he's like he is." Alan said again, regret and pain written all over his face. "It's all my fault and I'm the reason that Serena died and why Mairin can't walk anymore!" He shouted as tears fell down his face. "All I wanted to do was save Mairin's Chespin…that's all I wanted….but it all got so out of hand."

Gary dropped the man and watched as he fell to his knees, sobbing as he got out what he has been holding in all of this time. "What exactly happened up on that tower?" he questioned.

"The death of a great trainer and what caused the greatest catastrophe Kalos has ever seen."

TMS

A.N. So sorry this took so long but I have been busy with school and work and life in general. But I'm out of school right now, though the week this is uploaded…will be hell week for me at work! I'm working around 60-80 hours this week so I don't expect to be working on any of my stories this week. But I'll update as soon as I can afterwards! Until then, review and tell me what you think about this! Especially since I am now leaking some things into the story about what happened! Can you piece it all together before I reveal it? Also excuse some of the Japanese names I'm using instead of the English ones from the Dubbed Anime. It's just easier for me since I watched it when it was coming out over there and easier for me to keep up with.  
Until next time!


	7. Searching for Xerneas

Chapter Seven

Searching for Xerneas

 _"What are you doing Clemont?"_

The voice was feminine but it was clear and precise with the robotic reply. No emotion to the voice but that wasn't what mattered.

It was the fact that it came from the collar around Ash's neck. "It worked!" Clemont shouted out in excitement as he threw his hands up into the air in victory.

"Wait…Ash said that?" Trip questioned as Bonnie ran around in a circle in her own excitement.

"Thought it!" Clemont explained as his glasses shined in the sun and his voice raised in excitement. "I created a telepathic communicating device. I call it the Mind Speaker!" He shouted.

"Always literal with my big bro." Bonnie said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"This way he can speak through the machine right away! He won't have to write, sign, or mime what he's saying anymore!" Clemont stated. "The head piece reads what Ash wants to say and sends it down to the collar where there are speakers to send it out. It took a lot of time and effort and trial and error to get this working! I'm so happy it works."

 _"Thank you Clemont."_ Ash smiled at his friend. _"Science is so cool."_ The collar started to smoke.

"Oh no! Ash! Take it off!" Clemont shouted in horror as the collar smoked heavily.

And then it started to spew words that no one should hear. "Ash! Seriously, take the damn thing off!" Paul shouted as he reached over to help remove the collar. Ash was tugging at it but it didn't seem to want to come off.

"Bonnie! Cover your ears!" Clemont shouted as he ran over to help remove the collar as well.

"Does this happen often?" Trip questioned as he watched the three males try and rip the device off.

"More than I would like to admit." Bonnie admitted with a sigh, covering her ears a second later and turning away from the sight. She kneeled down and made sure that her Egg was tightly tucked against her stomach. She wasn't about to have poof up hair.

Trip took a step back and continued to watch the show up until sparks flew from the collar, igniting an explosion.

The sight that came to once the smoke cleared away caused Trip and Bonnie both to laugh heartily.

All three males' hair were like afros, they were covered in soot, and they stood there with stunned look on their faces. "Guess…it…didn't…work." Clemont said as he fell over onto the ground.

"You think!" Paul shouted as he shook his head and ran his hands through his hair to smooth it out. "What was wrong with the damn thing anyways? Why would it do something like that?"

Clemont sighed as he sat up from the ground and shrugged his shoulders. "Anything could've been wrong with it. I don't know unless I look over the pieces that survived." He said just as Ash handed him what was left of his device. "Sorry Ash, I didn't mean for that to happen."  
Ash only smiled at him and patted him on the head. It was obvious that he was saying it was alright. _"Besides, I'm used to this happening with your inventions."_ He signed out next, causing Clemont to sigh in exasperation and Bonnie to laugh.

"That's right! This happens all the time so Ash and I are used to it by now!" She exclaimed as she stood up and looked at the two other teens with them. "So! Now what do you guy want to do?" She questioned as she looked at them in excitement.

Ash turned back to his cliff and stared off into the distance.

Clemont took his invention back to the cave to try and get it to work.

Paul looked at Trip and Bonnie as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Wanna battle?"

"Sure!" Bonnie exclaimed in excitement as Trip readied his camera to take pictures. "This'll be epic!"

Ash didn't look back at the three but kept his eyes on the skyline. He had a feeling that it would be important to pay attention to it soon enough.

TMS

"What happened!?" Gary shouted as he fell to his own knees and gripped the man by the shoulders. "Tell me what happened!"

Alan sobbed for a long moment, ignoring Gary as the other man shouted at him. It took him several minutes before he got control of himself again. "Lysandre said he wanted to help me, to help me revive Chespin that belonged to Mairin." He explained. "Neither of us suspected that Lysandre just wanted to use the information we had to take over the world. Not to mention the energy that I had been gathering as well."

"Lysandre, he's the one who invented the Holo Caster?" Gary questioned calmly as he settled back on the grass to listen to the story.

"That's right. He led a team called Team Flare. He wanted to bring peace to Kalos and the world. They're goal was to use the Legendary Pokemon Zygarde to bring peace by reverting civilization back to the stone age." He explained calmly. He rubbed at his face to erase any traces of tears from his face. "He was going to even decimate the population of the world so that there weren't so many humans."

"Well if that isn't a genocidal lunatic I wouldn't know what is." Gary muttered tiredly. "So what does that have to do with what happened with Ash? As far as I was told he had gone missing among the chaos of the first wave of attacks." Alan was quiet for a long time, causing Gary to sit back up and look at the older man with a glare. "What did you do?"

"I helped capture Ash and took him to Lysandre, up to Lumiose Tower." He said with a growl, fists clenching tightly. "I don't really understand why he wanted Ash, but I know it had something to do with his bond with his Greninja."

"But you handed him to Lysandre! What the hell did that man do to Ash?" Gary really had to resist the urge to pumble this guy into the ground. His anger was growing more and more each second he listened to him.

"He used that laser on Ash, okay! That same laser he used on a legendary Pokemon to make it listen to him!" Alan stood up and began to pace back and forth as he gripped his head in between his hands, a snarl on his face. "He tried a smaller version of the device at first but it didn't work. Ash was too strong willed for it to work. So he turned to the larger scaled device and used it…"

Gary stared in horror at this information. He remembered the pictures of the device on the news after the devastation that had been wrought. It had been huge and the effect on a legendary Pokemon was phenomenal, evil, but phenomenal all the same.

To have it used on a human a fiftieth the size of that legendary.

"God damn it!" Gary shouted as he stood up and grabbed the other by the collar of his shirt once more. "You put Ash in a horrible position! In possibly horrible pain! What were you thinking!?"

"I just wanted to help my friend!" Alan shouted back as he pushed Gary away from him. "I wanted to help Mairin but it went all wrong! Ash was hit with that beam and it hurt him so bad that his mind broke! He lost who he was! Then Serena and Mairin went to the base to retrieve her Chespin and Serena was killed! She was trying to protect Mairin but got hit instead with the Poison Sting and her Sylveon was smashed under rocks with its train and Mairin! Mairin can't walk anymore because of that! And then there was that huge ass thing that took Zygarde's form and tried to destroy the city using Chespin as a center! And then it just kept getting worse and worse and worse! So many people were hurt because I wanted to help my friend and learn more about Mega evolution!"

Gary could only watch as Alan's face turned red, snot dripped from his nose and tears from his eyes flowed like rivers. His grip on his hair tightened so much that he was afraid the other trainer would rip chunks of hair out of his head.

"They all got hurt because I screwed up!" Alan shouted out, startling Charizard and Metagross, both Pokemon turning to look at him. "I screwed up in trusting Lysander and Ash, Serena, and Mairin all got hurt because of it!" He sobbed brokenly, barely keeping on his feet as his soul just about shattered under the pressure of guilt and sorrow.

Gary watched this with saddened eyes before sighing. He would let the trainer cry for as long as he needed.

It looked like he needed it after all that had happened.

TMS

Ash closed his eyes as he felt a stirring in the air. Something was coming their way and it was big and strong.

He tilted his head to the side, signaling Pikachu with a simple movement to head to the cave and grab a single Pokeball he would need.

Though he normally used the electric mouse for most battles, he felt that this one would give his strongest Pokemon a vigorous battle and he wanted to give it a chance to stretch for real. He grinned when Pikachu reappeared on his shoulder, Pokeball in his little paws. He took the ball and patted his oldest friend on the head in thanks.

He turned back to the sky as he clipped the ball to his belt and watched as a large silver Pokemon appeared in the sky.

He knew that Pokemon- though the color was all wrong- and felt that this would be an interesting battle to have.

He also wondered why this trainer was coming. Why would he come now and how did he find the time to come here. He was running a large company now, having taken over for his father a year ago. At least, that's what Clemont had told him when he was complaining about the switch over delaying his orders of parts for a month.

He watched with blank eyes as the Metagross flew over with a figure on top of it and landed behind Ash. He didn't turn around to look at the figure. He wanted to try and figure out what he was going to do now.

"So you're the great and legendary Trainer of Mt. Silver. It's nice to finally meet you." The figure said with a soft smile that turned into a frown as the figure refused to turn and look at him. "I'm Steven Stone and I am the president of Devon Corporation. I've come to see what sort of trainer you really are." He stated confidently.

Ash finally turned around and looked at the other trainer, a Champion actually. Hoenn if he remembered correctly, which he didn't really rely on anymore when it came to people. The champion sport a whitish blue hairstyle that gave a windswept sense. He wore a purple business suit that had a black button up underneath it. Boots were on his feet and he wore black gloves and a matching black scarf.

"Will you accept my challenge?" Steven questioned curiously.

Ash stood silently for a second before turning to the Metagross beside Steven, looking at a particular spot on the Pokemon. A silver band on the front right leg that held a Metagrossite on it.

"You wish to battle my Metagross?" Steven questioned with a raised brow.

Ash looked back at the Champion and nodded his head. Memories of adventures from the past coming to him. The one encounter he had with Steven Stone back in a cave and a horde of Aron. It had been a close call then and he doubted the man remembered him now. It was a bunch of memories of a time with a girl and her brother and Brock, but they were memories he didn't have before. It was something at least.

"Alright, we'll battle then. I'll use Metagross and you'll use your Pikachu, correct?" Steven questioned but then frowned when the other trainer pulled out a Pokeball and the Pikachu ran off into the storm that surrounded the two. There was obviously a psychic type keeping them shielded from the storm. "Oh, not the Pikachu? I'm honored you think highly enough to use a different Pokemon."

The looked on Steven's face when Greninja appeared in front of the Legendary Trainer could have been sold for millions of dollars' worth of stones.

TMS

"Delia? Are you up?" Professor Oak called out into the house, following a panicking Mr. Mime. "Delia? Why is Mr. Mime so agitated?" He questioned as he walked up the stairs and to his old friend's room.

The place was still in the same state it was before. Clean and livable, but dead as the owner no longer cared what happened. Though it for some reason felt darker and colder than before. As if something had changed within since the time he had come in yesterday.

He walked into Delia's room, only to freeze at the peaceful look on the woman's face.

That wouldn't have been worrying if it hadn't been for how pale and gaunt she looked. "Delia!" Professor Oak screamed as he ran forward and laid a finger on the pulse point on her neck. He waited and waited and waited.

Then there it was. A pulse.

It was thready. Weak.

He'd have to move fast. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911 and hoped that Viridian Hospital would be able to reach them in time.

"Hold on Delia, you can't leave yet." He said to the mother and hoped that she would hold on until help could arrive. "I won't let you die, it's not what they would want."

TMS

"Better?" Gary asked as he looked at the calm and collected figure in front of him.

"Somewhat." Alan agreed "Though I probably look like I got beat up." He chuckled as he dumped water over his red and blotchy face. His eyes were swollen from crying and he hoped that he didn't look as bad as he felt. Though that weight on his chest had disappeared, a weight he had been carrying since Ash had been hurt.

"Since you're feeling better, I think Metagross had a lock on Xerneas. We better get moving before he loses it." Gary said as he pulled up his backpack and slung it onto his back. Charizard stood up and lowered himself just enough for the other to climb onto his back.

"Wait, what?" Alan asked as he looked at the Gym Leader. "What do you mean 'We'?" he asked as he walked over to his own Metagross that was waiting for a command. "Do you have a lock on it?" He questioned and received a nod from the Steel type.

"I mean that we'll both go and look for Xerneas. IF you think it'll help Ash, then I want to help find it." Gary explained as he waited. "Come on summon your own Charizard and we'll get going. We can't wait around all day or it'll move and we'll have to wait for that Metagross to locate it again."

Alan could only stare at Gary for a long moment before he nodded his head and released his own Charizard. He climbed on it and then looked at Metagross. "Alright, lead the way." He commanded and soon all of them were in the air, taking off at speeds that only a few Pokemon could achieve.

They flew quietly among the sky for long moments. Both were lost in thought as they flew. They didn't really want to talk to each other at the moment, mostly Gary as he still felt that simmering anger in his body to murder the man on the other Charizard. He still couldn't believe that this guy would just hand over a fellow trainer like that. As if Ash was cattle to be used to feed the masses. It angered him greatly.

Alan felt guilt still and knew that the other trainer most likely hated him. But that didn't matter. He just wanted to help Ash now and try and lesson some of the pain he had caused the other. He felt like he had no chance of redemption so he didn't even bother to try. It would be too much anyways. This way he could help a little.

"Mairin, who was she?" Gary questioned after a little bit of flying around. Metagross was slowly making his way, eyes glowing. It was obvious that it was making sure it still had a lock on Xerneas, though how it could was something Gary still understand and most likely didn't want to. Anything concerning Legendary Pokemon could be confusing or dangerous at most times.

"A good friend that joined me on my journey to understand Mega evolution." Alan replied with a soft smile. "She was just a rookie when I met her, only had the Pokemon that the professor gave her still." He laughed as he remembered how clumsy she was and still was even now, despite the lack of use she had of her legs. "Always falling over, always worrying that Chespin, and always having to be rescued from situations she got herself in. She's fun and loving, always with a kind word, and always with a bright smile that'll make another's day brighten."

Gary smiled at the other's description, even more at the smile that was now gracing the other's face. "Alright, so are you going to go and see her after this?"

"Yeah, I'd like to, but I'll go and see Ash first. He needs help more than Mairin. She works for Professor Sycamore at the moment and so she's good to go." He explained as Metagross stopped in midair and hovered over a spot, staring at its trainer with a silent message in its eyes. "It's here?" Alan questioned excitedly.

Metagross nodded as it began to lower down. "Alright, let's do this!" Gary shouted as he motioned for Charizard to follow the steel type. "Hopefully we'll be able to get this Pokemon before it disappears!"

"No kidding. This is the tenth time I've found it but it's not getting away this time!" Alan shouted back as his hair whipped backwards from the rush of the wind. He had to get Xerneas to help this time. There was no other choice. Ash needed help now, he'd waited long enough.

"There!" Gary shouted as they got closer to the ground, pointing at a spot where a blue Pokemon with weird colorful antlers could be seen standing on top of a hill.

Looking right up at them.

"The heck? Is it waiting for us?" Gary questioned as the two Charizards stopped and hovered in the air. Metagross right below them, waiting to see what they would do. "How did it know we were even coming?"

"I don't know." Alan said as he shared a look with his Pokemon before the Charizard took a nose dive and landed in front of the Legendary Pokemon.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Gary shouted as he had Charizard land as well and followed Alan so that they were both staring up at the Fairy Type Legendary Pokemon. "Welp, now I can cross you off the list of Legendaries that I've met." Gary said as he tilted his head at the Fairy type.

"I assume you've met others like myself then?" Xerneas said as she looked at the two trainers.

"Wait, you can talk?" Alan asked with wide eyes as he took a step back in surprise.

"Most Legendaries can, though they choose not to talk with Humans because there are some real jerks out there." Gary explained calmly. "Ash has met a lot of them in the past and I've met one or two of them in the past in different circumstances. It happens a lot when you know Ash Ketchum apparently."

"Yes, I know who Ash Ketchum is." Xerneas said next with what could have been described as a smile in her voice. "He appeared in this same forest years ago with his friends. My counterpart, Yveltal, had been released and caused destruction as he is wont to do." She explained with a dip of her head. "I healed his friends and himself from the fate they would have suffered if I hadn't been there. I was sealed away due to that even for some time before I recovered."

The story of Ash didn't surprise Gary at all. That boy had a habit of getting into dangerous situations and coming out of it smelling like roses. "Yeah, that's Ash's luck there."

Alan nodded in agreement before shaking his head and looking at the Legendary with a determined look. "That's why we're here! I want to help my friend Ash and research suggests that you might be able to do that!"

Xerneas turned to Alan and looked at him for a long moment. "You have been chasing me for the past two years. Always right behind me most times." She said calmly. "Is this the reason why? To help someone?"

Alan nodded his head. "I hurt him." He admitted, tears stinging his eyes but he refused to let them fall this time. "I hurt him so badly. I want to help him heal and remember who he is. But I didn't know how to do that, so I researched. I found references to you and your abilities. You can heal just about anything. Please, help me help him!" Alan exclaimed desperately. "He doesn't deserve to live the way he is because I screwed up."

Xerneas took in the form of the panting young man, looking him over carefully and seriously. Both males knew that this Pokemon was looking for something, what it was, neither of them knew. "You wish to help him?" She questioned but before Alan could answer she continued. "Or do you wish to help yourself and relieve yourself of the guilt you carry for hurting a friend?"

Alan stood there, frozen in shock and disbelief.

Gary could only look at the Legendary in horror. He had known Alan had carried guilt for what had happened to Ash, but he didn't realize that what the other was doing could be taken as a way for Alan to redeem himself. "Whoa! Wait just a minute there!" He shouted as he stepped forward. "What about me then? I want to help Ash as well! Does that mean I'm guilty about what happened to him and just want to make myself feel better?" HE questioned hotly.

"No, you have another reason for the boy to be healed." Xerneas said. "To heal another this child must be healed first. Much more noble than to relieve guilt that the other feels."

Alan had bowed his head as Gary and Xerneas spoke, eyes shadowed by his hair. Now though, he spoke as Gary scowled at the Legendary. "No, you're wrong." Alan spoke up stoically.

"Oh, how so?" The Fairy Type questioned as she moved to stand directly in front of Alan. Whatever this human was about to say, she wanted to make sure she got the full impact of the words. Only then would she decide to help him.

"The guilt I feel, the guilt of hurting my friend…friends because of the decisions I made. It will never leave me." He said as he looked up at the Fairy type. "There is no redemption that can be made, no forgiveness that can be given, and no relief from the guilt I feel for what I've done. This guilt I feel, I'll always carry it no matter if you help or not."

Alan knew that what he said we true. All the anger, sadness, and guilt that he felt would stay with him. It wouldn't leave him ever. He knew that even if Ash forgave him that he wouldn't forgive himself. He was okay with that though. He deserved this for what he had done to his friends and what it had caused.

Gary watched the two from the side. He had no place in this confrontation. He wanted to help Ash, yes, but this situation was not one he had any place being in the middle of. He'd have to wait and see what Xerneas thought of the one chasing her for years now.

Xerneas looked deep into Alan's eyes for what felt like an eternity before she stepped towards him until she was in touching distance and then lowered her head. Alan watched as a crystal of rainbow colors formed between her antlers until it was the size of a baseball and took the form of a flower. "Use this to help heal your friend." She said as she stood up fully once more. "It will help heal him, if not fully, than mostly."

Alan nodded his head as he held the crystal like item in between his hands in awe. "What is it?" He questioned as he looked back up at Xerneas. He couldn't believe that this intimidating being was actually willing to help him.

"It is the concentrated form of my heal pulse. Powerful in general, but it is not as powerful if I were there personally to heal him." She explained gently. "He will heal as much he is able from this. From there it will be his will to move on that will get him where he needs to be."

With that she turned and began to walk away from the two humans. "Wait! What if it doesn't work?" Gary called out to the legendary. He knew the power most held but sometimes myth wasn't reality and this was the first time he had ever met Xerneas, so he didn't know what this Fairy Type was capable of.

"Then he doesn't wish to be healed." With that said the Legendary disappeared into the forest, blooms of flowers and plants sprouting up behind her as she went.

Gary and Alan watched the figure leave for a long time until it was out of sight, and even then they just stood there staring at the place she had been.

"I think…we should…go." Gary said as the sun began to set and he looked over at the still stunned man. "We need to get that to Ash anyways."

Alan nodded his head dumbly for a minute before shaking his head. "Right, okay, let's get going then. Charizard, you ready for a long flight?" He questioned as he turned to his partner.

Charizard roared in excitement as he flared his wings. "I'll take that as a yes." Gary said as he walked over to Ash's Charizard as well. "Let's get going then."

"Good job Metagross, now get some rest." Alan said as he recalled his Iron Leg Pokemon and then climbed onto his Charizard. "Let's get going."

With that the two took off for Mt. Silver in Kanto.

TMS

"She's got weak vitals, but she's holding on at the moment." A doctor said as she walked into the room where one Delia Ketchum laid on her bed, breathing tube down her throat, wires hooked up all around her, and IV's going into her arms. "She'll survive as long as we continue to feed her nutrients and vitamins for the time. Once she's strong enough, we'll take her off of the breathing tube and start having her eat again. We'll arrange to have a Psychologist come in and see her as well."

"Thank you so much doctor." Professor Oak said with a sad smile. "I think we owe you quite a bit for helping out our friend here." He said as Mr. Mime took the doctor's in two of his and shook it furiously.

The doctor smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "You're welcome. We'll continue what we can for your trainer, okay Mr. Mime." She said as she patted the Pokemon's hand before turning back to Professor Oak. "I'll be back to check on her again. You're free to stay until visiting hours are over and then I'll have to ask you to take Mr. Mime with you. Unfortunately we can't allow Pokemon to stay without a conscious Trainer around." She explained.

"That's okay. He can stay with me at my farm and the other Pokemon there and then come back when I come to check on Delia." He said to the Doctor and Mr. Mime. "Let's get settled for a little while Mr. Mime, we don't have to be back at the farm for a while. Tracey will watch the place for me." He decided as he settled down into an uncomfortable hospital chair.

"Mr. Mime! Mime Mime Mr. Mime!" The Pokemon agreed and proceeded to make his own chair and then sit on thin air.

The doctor smiled sadly as she walked out of the room. 'I hope she'll make it, for that Mr. Mime's sake if no one else's.' she thought as she moved on to her next patient.

TMS

Steven stared at the water type with wide eyes for a long time. He knew that Metagross's secondary type was Psychic and Greninja's was Dark so he'd have an advantage there. But the water versus steel type, not so much. "Are you sure that's the one you want to use?" He questioned up at the silent trainer.

The answer he got was bright white Kunai shaped attack appearing in Greninja's hands and practically flew at his own steel type.

"Dodge it!" Steven commanded and sighed as his Pokemon dodged just in time, only to cry out in surprise as his Pokemon was flipped onto its back. "You okay?" He questioned and watched Metagross flip back up onto its feet and make a noise close to a growl. It was obvious that the Pokemon was annoyed. "Alright then, how about we up the challenge!" Steven said as he pulled off the Keystone from the pocket just over his heart and pressed it. "Share the strength of my heart and soul! Mega Evolve Metagross!" He called out as light from his keystone and Metagrossite and then connected.

Soon the Metagross's arms had elongated, the X on its face turned blue, and a spike appeared underneath its mouth.

Ash did not move as a torrent of water suddenly surrounded Greninja, startling Steven and his Metagross.

They watched as the water blocked what seemed to be a transformation. "Mega Evolution?" Steven questioned as the torrent of water coalesced onto the back of the water type and turned into a large X shaped weapon. There was black fins on either side of its head while a large red star shape rested on the middle of its head, glowing brightly for several seconds before fading into a calm red. "No, that's something else." Steven said with a frown before he looked at his Metagross. "Be careful, we don't know what sort of abilities this thing has."

Metagross grunted back at its trainer while its eyes were trained on Greninja. It wasn't about to be taken by surprise by this other Pokemon, despite the sense of power it was getting from the water type.

"Alright then, let's start off with Meteor Mash!"

TMS

A.N. Alright then! Another chapter down and a lot more movement to where I want this to get going! Whoohoo! I can't wait to continue to write this. It'll get some more angst but then get better. So don't worry too much. Also know that I'm obviously going to change a few things that are coming up. So just read and enjoy! Also Review and tell me what you think about this chapter! I wanna know!


	8. Returning

Chapter Eight

Returning

Greninja elegantly jumped over the Meteor Mash and over the Metagross entirely, balancing on his feet before pushing all of his strength into his legs and performing another cut.

That was dodged by the Metagross as it leapt out of the way by spinning wildly. The Dark type humphed slightly as it returned to standing in front of its trainer, eyes narrowed at the mega evolved Pokemon in irritation.

It had been a long time since he had a real challenged and he remembered how fun and difficult battling a champion could be. This one resembled that one mightily. The difference though was that he wasn't a newly evolved Pokemon coming to grips with all of his abilities. No, no he was able to control everything about himself and attack precisely.

This battle would be fun.

 _'Don't get cocky.'_

Greninja rolled his eyes at his trainer's voice echoing in his head, though he smiled at hearing it. He rarely used this ability anymore due to the lack of challenge and so he very rarely heard Ash's voice. _'I won't if you don't.'_ He returned as he dodged out of the way of another Rapid Spin.

 _'Good, because something isn't right here. Look at his eyes.'_

Greninja blinked at the suggestion before turning and looking at the other human, taking in everything about him and the memories of the last few minutes from Ash himself.

It had started out normal, he could tell, because the human fit the description of Steven Stone from everything his Trainer could remember. But the further into the battle they got and the longer it took, it became more and more obvious that something was wrong.

The trainer's eyes and his Pokemon's eyes were shining too bright a crimson to be normal.

It didn't help that he recognized that color of crimson almost immediately.

 _'We need to run!'_ He knew what was going on as soon as he took in those red eyes and he shouted out as loud as he could for all of the Pokemon that would come to their aid. All of Ash's trusted friends that would have their backs and make sure nothing bad happened.

 _'We can't.'_ A flash of Bonnie, Trip, Paul, and Clemont all flashed through his mind before he growled to himself. He leapt away from another Meteor Mash and leapt right next to Ash, trying to figure out where the attack would come from.

"It seems you've noticed then." Steven said in a monotone that caused a chill to run up Greninja's spine. "There is no longer a need for me to hide then."

That was when the sound of humming came, making both Greninja and Ash whip their eyes up into the sky where the clouds began to part.

A type of aircraft was there. Obvious that it had arrived with Steven now but had stayed hidden. "It has been a while since our last encounter, Ash Ketchum." A figure stated as he was lowered down with four others by rope cables. "I believe the last time was when you had destroyed my Rock Creature and almost completely destroyed me." Lysandre said with a smirk.

Ash frowned as he tried to remember it, but there was so much that he was still missing. That didn't make any sense in his head nor his heart. But one thing was for sure, Greninja knew this man and the hate and anger and fury consumed the Ninja Pokemon entirely. _'I need you to calm down.'_

Greninja didn't want to though. He hated the thought of calming down at all and he just wanted to tear that man apart and make sure he never survived. _'Let me call the others. We'll need help.'_

 _'Do it.'_ Ash bowed his head as his Pokemon took a deep breath and let out a roar that startled Lysandre before he scowled at the other boy.

A flash of memory in Ash's mind, he was in Kalos on top of a tower with this man standing in front of him. He had been wearing a weird contraption at the time. _'He…hurt us, right?'_ He questioned Greninja as the Pokemon moved in front of him and blocking Lysandre from a clear view of the trainer.

 _'Yes, badly. I won't allow it again.'_ The Dark type growled low in its throat as it prepared to attack once more. Only to have to leap out of the way of Hyper beam that came from the side. That damned Metagross was attacking again, full on. He wouldn't be able to stay in one place for long if at all.

Luckily he wouldn't have to as the cave flooded outward with all of Ash's other Pokemon, each one slamming towards the four women that had lowered themselves down to attack as well. Flashes of a battle similar to this one came to his mind, creating a migraine that was consuming him completely.

He needed to concentrate on what was in front of him, so he forced his mind away from the memories-something he hated doing since he wanted to know-and focused on the man in front of him.

Lysandre's entire left side of his face was covered in what seemed a burn scar that had turned one of his eyes milky white. His hair was long and trailing down his back like a Pyroar's mane. He wore a black suit with a red button shirt and then a long black cape that flared out behind him fiercely. He was an intimidating figure.

Only Ash wasn't intimidated or scared in the least.

Especially when his Infernape slammed into the Metagross with Greninja grabbing hold of Staraptor's leg and flying high into the air to attack the airship. Snorlax and Dewott slammed into two of the women each, pinning them down so they couldn't get up. Then Bayleef and Quilava slammed into the other two women as Pikachu landed in front of Lysandre with a fierce glare. The rest of his Pokemon appeared at his side just as the entire airship above them blew into a fiery inferno and began to fall down.

Greninja landed in front of him with Staraptor.

"It seems you've gotten even stronger in the years." Lysandre stated as he snapped his fingers.

None of the Pokemon had expected for Steven Stone to slam into Ash and for both of them to fall off the edge the Trainer had been standing on.

TMS

"What was that?" Bonnie questioned as she looked over to where the loud sound came from.

Clemont looked as well, trying to figure out what was going on. Their view of the top of the mountain was blocked at the moment due to an overhang. None of them would be able to see what was going on. "I know that sound." Clemont stated as he turned and began to run back the way they had come.

"That was an explosion." Paul took off after Clemont, keeping up with the mechanic easily. "What caused it though? We didn't see anyone go by us when we left."

"Could be anything." The blonde shook his head as he tried to shake the fear away. "But if I'm right, that was a mechanical explosion, so something machine was just destroyed. A big one too from the sound of it."

"Do you think it could be Team Rocket?" Bonnie questioned as she remembered the three doofuses they had dealt with on their journey with Ash.

"Took them three years to realize that Ash is here? No, something else is going on." Trip added as he paced along with them. They needed to stay together now more than ever.

"Do you think our Pokemon will be able to handle it?" the little girl looked down to where the egg was in her arms and her exhausted Pokemon on her belt. That was why they were heading down to the Pokemon Center at the bottom of the mountain. They had been going down to heal their Pokemon and get them rested more thoroughly.

"They'll have to." Paul stated as they ran back into the tunnel that would take them to the path they needed to get to the top of Mount Silver.

TMS

"Sir, are you sure you want the subject terminated like that?" One of the scientists questioned from her place underneath Snorlax. She was struggling her way out but the Pokemon would move whenever she got too close.

"Yes. He's too much of a hindrance to try and call back into service. His Pokemon we'll capture and use to our desires." Lysandre could only smirk at all of the Pokemon in front of him, waiting to see the dread and horror and anger. Something that would say they were all horrified at the death of their trainer.

Only it didn't come.

He frowned as he looked at all of the calm Pokemon, watching him as he watched them. Not even the Greninja was phased from the looks of it and it was still in its enhanced form. It shouldn't be if its trainer was dead.

Which meant one thing.

"Did you really think we would let you kill these two?" Two orange blurs flew straight up into the air before landing in front of all the other Pokemon with a thud. He could feel the ground tremble as the two fire types landed. "I mean really, how idiotic would that be?"

"Viridian Gym Leader Gary Oak." Lysandre glared at the young man before his eyes slid over to Alan, his once best collector of Mega Evolution energy. "And Alan. How nice to see you again."

"Too bad the feeling isn't mutual." The Trainer spat before looking to where Steven was knocked out on the ground and Ash was standing next to his Charizard. "What are we going to do?"

Ash glanced at the other before snapping a finger, watching as his Charizard whipped his tail forward to show a Mega stone embedded into a black metal tail ring. Ash reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a key stone of his own that was made into a simple necklace.

"Ah." Alan said as he glanced at his own Charizard's necklace and to his glove where his own key stone sat. "So we should attack them with all we've got then." He stated as he touched his Keystone. "Bond us together for battle and share our hearts! Mega Evolve!"

Gary watched with wide eyes as both trainers touched their keystones and their Charizards glowed in response. "Holy shit. How did I miss that?" He questioned as he stared at the two much large orange fire types, taking in the wider wings and the horns that had grown on their heads. Charizard Y forms were just as cool as X and no matter what anyone said, Gary knew for a fact that these two were freaking wicked. That ring had been on Charizard's tail the entire time and he still hadn't seen it.

Lysandre isn't even given time to fight back as he is tackled by the mega evolved Pokemon and then kept to the ground forcefully. The man whips his head around to try and figure a way out, only to realize that all those henchmen were most likely dead and the four with him were already pinned. His own hands were pinned in a way that he couldn't call out his Pokemon.

Stone was out and his Metagross was out as well, Infernape sitting on top of it as if it was a boulder to lounge around on. There was no way he'd be able to get help from anyone at this point. He was trapped. "It seems that you have won." He stated calmly even as he pulled at his limbs to try and get out.

"Why are you here? We thought you were dead." Alan growled angrily as he walked over to the downed man. "Why come back now when you could have just destroyed us without revealing yourself in the first place?"

"I came for the Mega Evolution Energy that I gathered so long ago." The man's blue eyes landed on Ash, intense as always. "The last of it is within that boy and his Greninja."

"In Ash?" Gary questioned as he stepped up next to Alan and crouching down so that he could be on a better level with the man. "Do you mean that the energy is still in Ash? After three years, it's still in there?" HE looked up to Alan after the Holo Cast inventor nodded his head.

"Yeah, that could be the reason why." Alan answered the unspoken question. "I don't really understand what the beam to him, but that could have been a reason why he's the way he is."

"What the hell is going on here!?" Paul shouted as he shot out of the cave to glare at the group of people surrounding his rival and the gym leader. "Who are you?" A glare landed on Alan in an instant with suspicion in his eyes.

"Alan!" Clemont shouted as he came running out as well. "Is that Lysandre? He's alive?" He screeched next as he took in the sight of the scientists and the leader of Team Flare. All of them were laying on the ground underneath Pokemon.

"That's Steven Stone! A champion too!" Bonnie squealed at the sight of the unconscious champion before her face fell in concern as she took in the state of the man. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know but I'm pretty sure it wasn't good." Trip added as they all ran over to where Ash was standing once more, Greninja at his side and Pikachu on his shoulder. "What happened then?"

"Lysandre, Team Flare leader." Clemont stated with a growl as he pulled out a phone from a pocket. "He's the one that caused the destruction in Lumiose City and hurt Ash. He must've come back to finish off what he started. Yes, hello, me and my friends have captured a wanted criminal…"

Bonnie watched her brother walk off to the side before turning back to look at the other males. "What are we going to do now? We can't let him go but we can't leave him on the ground like that."

"The hell we can't." Gary spat as he kicked snow in the man's face, ignoring the hurt look on the blonde's face. "Alakazam, use hypnosis on them all." He said as he called out the Psychic type.

"Ala…" The Pokemon quickly concentrated as he stared at all the Team Flare members and slowly put them to sleep.

"You don't…understand." Lysandre growled out as he fought against the attack. "We came…to help…him."

"You're the reason why he's like this to begin with!" Alan shouted angrily. "He's like this because you got so filled with hatred and anger at how humans are! You became what you hated the most."

"I know…that." The man could feel his energy beginning to wane slowly. He was going to fall asleep soon but he had to say what needed to be said. "That's why…I wanted to…finish…what I…started." He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

"Why is a champion here?" Gary turned to ask his friend, only to watch as the other kneeled next to said man. "What are you doing?"

 _'You seeing what I'm seeing?'_

 _'Yes. It's exactly like the energy that was destroying Kalos.'_ Though it wasn't condensing in the human as it did in the ground so long ago, Greninja would never forget the signature of the vines destroying his home. _'Looks like Lysandre hadn't learned his lesson the first time around.'_

 _'Will you be able to remove it?'_ Ash knew that the destruction of the vines were rather simple for them but removing it from another…that could be difficult. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to do it.

Greninja looked at the champion closely before shaking his head. _'No. I won't be able to remove it. I don't have any moves that can do so safely. We'd kill him.'_ He glanced off to the side where the Charizard trainer was standing though. He could see something in his backpack. A powerful signature that could help.

 _'Get it.'_

He didn't need to be told twice as he leapt at the other man and ripped his backpack from him. "Hey! What are you doing!?" Alan reached out to grab his back but missed as the Ninja Pokemon leapt away and back to Ash, handing him the bag.

They watched as the trainer unzipped the bag and pulled out what seemed to be a bright and glowing flower. "We got that from Xerneas." Gary informed calmly.

Ash could only hold the flower in his hands as he stared at it blankly. A warmth he had felt before from somewhere. He wasn't sure from where, but he had felt it before. It calmed his aching head and brought forth several memories from his past. A girl wearing a bandana and a boy with square glasses. They were siblings and his friends.

A girl with bright blue hair that wore a white hate and a pink skirt. A girl with black hair that wore yellow and a boy with green hair that talked a lot about food.

All of his friends.

A girl with long brown hair and then short brown hair. A smile like the sun and a kindness that warmed his heart.

Two soft hands encompassing his face and a kiss to his forehead. He could see them still but this figure was filled with love and compassion and her hands…her? He shook his head before turning back to Steven. He knew what he needed to do. It wouldn't be hard to do but it was difficult to do so.

He wanted to keep the flower to himself. To regain his memories but…

He stared at the man through Greninja's eyes. The energy that had filled him was tearing him apart. His body wasn't adjusting and adapting. He would die if he didn't do something to help him now.

"That flower can restore your memories Ash." Alan spoke up. "I searched and searched and finally, I found it. I found Xerneas and it gave me that. It can help you." He explained beseechingly. "All you have to do is let it."

Ash looked over at him and then back at the flower. Another flash of memory.

A woman this time. A familiar one. Long auburn hair that was almost like fire. Strong hands that could lift him up into the air or the strong arms that would wrap him up in a hug. Loving brown eyes.

He smiled as he looked down at the flower before slowly lowering it onto the Champion before him.

"Ash! What are you doing!?" Alan shouted as he ran towards the other, but stopped when Greninja landed in front of him with its arms spread out. He was being blocked.

Unable to do anything, they all watched as the flower disappeared into the champion's body.

The man's body shined bright white as it fully absorbed the energy before it let out a blast of bright light. It blinded them all for several seconds before it disappeared just as fast it appeared.

None but Ash and Greninja saw the flaring red energy blast out of the champion.

"Ugh…what hit me?" A voice questioned a minute later.

"No clue." Gary replied as he walked over to the two. "Though I think it has something to do with that guy." He threw his thumb over his shoulder to point out the unconscious Lysandre. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was working in my office…." Steven said as he sat up with the help of Ash and Heracross. "I had papers due…." He scrunched his nose up as he thought hard. "But…I don't remember."

 _'He was hit with the same beam I was.'_ Clemont read as Ash signed. _'So I doubt he'll remember much from his time under the beam.'_

"That must be why you used the gift on him." Alan frowned before sighing. "I doubt I can get Xerneas to give me another one. It was pretty hard to get the first one to begin with."

"It's fine." Gary said with slumped shoulders. "We'll figure something else out to help the idiot."

 _'Can you take me to my mom?'  
_ Gary's shoulders stiffened and his head shot up to stare at a still blank faced Ash. "What did you just say?"

 _'The flower…before I used it, it showed me images. People I knew…not all of them, but the really important ones. My mom was one of them.'_ He explained quickly, ignoring how everyone had fallen silent. _'So, will you take me to her? I don't remember where she's at but I know you do."_

Gary couldn't help but laugh at that. Long and loud and happy. "Of course. I'll take you to her as soon as we're ready to go." He agreed easily.

It seemed that things were finally starting to go in the right direction.

TMS

It had been another long day. He was exhausted and frustrated and just done with everything at the moment. He was so happy that he had Tracey there with him to run the lab while he spent most of the days at the hospital to wait for Delia to wake up. The poor woman had still yet to wake.

He wandered if she ever would.

She had lost everything she had ever loved.

Her parents had died when she was young.

Her husband had disappeared years ago.

And now her son. Gone with the wind.

She had hardly anyone left to lean on and though Professor Oak was there to help out where he could, he wasn't sure she'd ever take it.

He sighed as he opened the door to his house. "I'm back." He called in, expecting to hear Tracey call back to him as he hung up his coat and slipped his shoes off so he could put his slippers on instead.

"Welcome back gramps!"

"Gary?" The old man called back in surprise as he walked into his living room. His grandson had disappeared sometime ago and hadn't sent word where he had been. The Pokemon league was getting annoyed because his gym had been closed, forcing trainers to go to the lesser known gyms to get badges. He stopped dead at the sight in his living room.

"Yep! Thought I'd bring some friends over and see how Mrs. Ketchum is, though it seems like she's not home. Finally got out did she?" HE questioned as he sipped at his coffee.

Oak could only stare for a long moment as he took the figures in, all sitting on his couches. Two blondes, one with grey hair, another dirty blonde, and then a raven with a hat on. They all seemed like a rather ragamuffin group but seemed comfortable as they settled where they were.

He looked off to the side as another raven haired male came in with Tracey, both carrying trays with biscuits and sandwiches on them. There was a single bottle of ketchup on the platter as well, confusing the professor terribly. Why would there be a bottle of ketchup. Nothing on the platter even looked like it needed ketchup to be served alongside them. "Hello professor, welcome back." His assistant said with a strained smile. "How was the visit?"

He watched as the young artist's eyes flickered to the young man wearing a hat and back. It was obvious that there was something about the other he should know about. What it was, he didn't know. "Good. Though long. Mr. Mime, why don't you go and see the other Pokemon outside. I'll be calling for dinner soon." He said to the psychic Pokemon, waving it off as it pointed at a broom in the corner of the room. "No, don't worry about it now. Go and enjoy yourself."

"That's Mrs. Ketchum's Pokemon. Why is it here?" Gary questioned with narrowed eyes. He should've known his grandson would be able to spot something off by just the sight of the Pokemon being here. He hardly left Delia's side in the first place.

"How about you introduce your guests and once we've figured out where everyone is going to sleep tonight, I'm assume you're staying here, then you and I will go and have a private chat." He negotiated with a wary glance at the man in the hat. Something about him…there was something about him but he wasn't sure what.

There was something chilling about the teen. He had to be about Gary's age and he seemed calm and collected. His eyes were hidden by the hat he wore though and his skin was pale, almost unhealthily so. Not to mention that he could only see two Pokeballs on his belt at the moment which was strange for someone of his age. Most had six on their belt at all times.

"Sure gramps. The blonde with glasses is Clemont, he's the gym leader at Lumiose City in Kalos. The girl next to him is Bonnie, his little sister. Next to her is Paul, he's one of the Sinnoh Pokemon League Champions. Then that's Trip, he's from Unova and has been traveling with Paul." He stopped at that as they all waved at the professor before turning to the trainer with the hat, a grin plastered on his face. "This guy here…"

He was stopped as the other raised a hand in the air and gave a single snap of his fingers.

They all froze and waited for a long moment. Oak wasn't sure what they were waiting for but then the sound of pitter patter of little footsteps reached his ears and he looked to the door that led out back to the Pokemon fields.

From around the corner came a bright yellow mouse that moved with such speed that the old man almost missed it entirely.

He could only watch with wide eyes as the electric type leapt up into the air before landing onto the other teen's lap and happily snuggling there.

It all came into place though when Tracey handed the now opened bottle of ketchup to the Pikachu and the little mouse cooed before licking excitedly at the opening.

His eyes snapped back up to the trainer, meeting the dulled crimson eyes in shock. HE gulped nervously as he walked over, Gary moving out of the way so that the other Oak could get to the other easier. "It can't be." He whispered as he reached out a hand and cupped the young man's cheek gently. He had changed so much. Too much in fact. He would have never recognized him if it wasn't for the Pikachu he had raised himself before giving it to this young man years ago.

"It is." Gary stated quietly. "I found him grandpa. He's been found and we've brought him back. Back home to where he belongs."

Samuel Oak had rarely cried in his life. Had rarely been as shocked. But then again. He had thought that this young man had been dead and that his mother would be following soon after.

His face scrunched up as he fell to his knees in front of the couch and in front of the trainer and sympathetic Pikachu. "Oh my boy…you're back…you're home Ash." With that he burst into tears of joy and sorrow.

"I just hope it isn't too late."

TMS

She had woken in the hospital with Professor Oak sitting at her bedside. She had started crying the instant she realized where she was.

She had yelled at the old man and accused him of not wanting her to be with her family again. She had thrown her tray of food at the man and continued to scream crazily until he had been removed from her room and she had been sedated by the staff.

She just wanted it all to be over so that she could see her husband and son again. So she kept her eyes closed, ignoring the sound of the door opening and closing and the sound of someone sitting in the chair next to her bed. It was probably the psychologist they had brought in to help her. She didn't want to talk to the man about what she felt. He didn't even understand what it was like to lose everything.

She stifled a sob as her hand flew up to her face. The IV tugged slightly but she ignored it. She just wanted to hide from everything and everyone. She didn't want to be here anymore.

A hand slid into her free one, gripping it gently but firmly so that she wasn't able to pull it out of the hold it was in. "Let go." She snapped as she tugged uselessly at the hold.

Only the person would release her and just held on tighter. "Go away! Leave me alone!" She screamed as she ripped the hand from her face to glare at the person that was holding to.

She froze.

The figure in front of her….a ghost that had disappeared from her life so long ago. The man that had given her a heart and made her feel loved and kind. He sat right there in the uncomfortable white hospital chair that was given for all visitors.

Eyes like dried blood, skin white as snow, and hair as dark as the night's blackest sky. "Oh…it can't…be you." She gasped out as she looked at the figure in front of her. Taking in the young face and smooth skin.

Smooth skin? That wasn't right. Her husband had a scar over his right eye from a run in with a Scyther and a small scar on his chin from when he had busted it open from running into a tree.

No, this wasn't her husband but he was similar. Scarily so. Almost as if her husband had cloned himself or had a…a…a child.

Delia looked at the other, realizing that he was just a young man, most likely just under twenty. His hands were calloused and his calm with experience and a confidence most young trainers wouldn't have.

Though there was something else. A cold aura that radiated around him, making him seem unapproachable and distant. His skin was freezing as well, as if he had taken an ice bath and hadn't warmed up yet. His clothes were worn and she could see them fraying at the edges, as if worn for a long time or they went through a rough time.

His eyes were blank but she could see a fire burning deep within them that many wouldn't have bothered to look for. But she had experience with eyes like this and so she could see it. A fire so strong that nothing would ever be able snuff it out.

But there was something else about this child that was turning into a man. Something that would reveal something incredibly important to her and it made her heart beat faster. Her eyes took the teen in with frantic movements and her hand gripped so tightly that her nails were digging into his hand, she was sure. But he didn't move or make a sound of protest.

And then a familiar and much loved yellow mouse jumped up onto her bed and into her lap.

That was when she knew. She knew for sure exactly who this young man was in front of her.

"You are so ground Ash Ketchum!" She sobbed out as she pulled on his hand weakly.

Ash could only give a faint smile as he stood and allowed himself to be pulled towards her so that his mother could hug him close and cry into his chest.

It was one of few times he wished he could talk so he could tell her how much he loved her. But since he couldn't, he'd just hold her tight and let her cry her heart out. That would have to tell her that her son was back and that there was no reason to worry anymore.

TMS

A.N. Do you think this is going to be the end of this story…no…it's not! Haha! Despite this I plan on actually writing onto Sun and Moon as well. It'll be a mix between the game and show so yeah. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter in a review! I hope I didn't disappoint too much and know that a lot of trials and tribulations are coming up! I can't wait to write it!


	9. Changing Scenes

Chapter Nine

Changing Scenes

The house was a complete mess. He could see the damage obtained over the years that were sloppily patched. Normally his mother was an expert at patches as she had to be after his father had disappeared, and so this mess wasn't her work. Had to be Mr. Mime's instead.

He shook his head as he looked at the dirt on the floor and the dust coating everything. The dishes piled up in the sink had mold growing on them and everything in the fridge was expired and reeked massively. The milk was a thick dark yellow color.

Leaks in the roof was apparent since large puddles covered the floors, the furniture was molded from the water and the stuffing was ripping out of the frame and cloth. The kitchen table was just as covered in mold and dust and grime while one leg looked like it was about to break.

He touched it with a hand and then watched it completely collapse under the gentle touch. The chairs would most likely do the same since they were in similar condition as the table. He was sure the beds were just as worse off as well.

Looks like the entire place was a mess, despite Mr. Mime trying to keep up with it all. Though he could understand the Pokemon being more worried about his mother than the house. She had definitely fallen into a depression after he had disappeared and it had been a close call apparently.

He was glad he had made it back in time to save her.

Ash shook his head as he snapped his fingers, Pikachu appearing at the top of the stairs covered in dust and grime, frown on his little yellow face. He didn't wait for the mouse to join him and instead walked back out of the house, adjusting as the Pikachu leapt onto his shoulders a moment later.

He'd have to either have a team come and clean the house or just get an entirely new one. He'd be able to as well since he collected the bounty on Lysandre and not to mention all the money he had built up from trainers challenging him up on Mt. Silver. HE was glad he had kept that feature of his Pokedex if nothing else. It was proving to come in use now.

HE walked back to Professor Oak's Lab with his hands shoved in his pockets as he tried ot figure out what he was going to do. His mother was going to be getting out of the hospital soon but he didn't want to return her back to a disastrous house. She'd be depressed again all over and he didn't want that.

"Well hello Ash, back from looking at the house then?" The professor questioned as he walked into the living room of the lab building. Ash raised a brow at the man in answer as Pikachu landed on the floor and moved to the couch. The little mouse settled there and watched his trainer pace back and forth.

Professor Oak grimaced at this before sighing. "I guess it's still a complete loss. Too much damage and no real love anymore to that place." Ash nodded at him before coming to a halt and glaring at a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't know what he was going to do.

"Hey gramps, is Ash here?" Gary called as he came running into the building and just about slammed into his grandfather at the entrance of the living room. "You won't believe what just happened at the market!" HE exclaimed with a smile on his face.

"Oh, and what would that be?" The older Oak questioned with a smile and a quirked brow. "Must be exciting with the way you're running around."

"It is! I was at the market and there was a contest at one of the booths. Free tickets to the Alola region! Guess who won them too!" He announced as he pulled out four tickets out in front of him.

Ash turned to look at his oldest and strongest rival with a raised brow, wondering where this was going. Though he did have a feeling and maybe he could get Gary to go along with the now forming plan in his head.

Pikachu seemed to be thinking the same thing as he stood up and ran over to the older Oak and jumped up onto his shoulder so that he could stare at the younger Oak with intent eyes. "Oh, four tickets. Who are you going to take with you then?"

Gary smirked as he turned to Ash and waved the tickets at him. "I'm taking a vacation from my Gym and I can take three people with me. Their Pokemon will be free on this trip and all expenses are already paid for." His face turned serious as he stood straight. "Your house is a complete and utter loss. I figure we could take your mom and gramps on this trip so that she can recover in the sun instead of in a dank house." He explained.

"That sounds wonderful my boy!" Professor Oak exclaimed as his own excitement began to form. "We can visit my cousin there too! He'll be excited to see us! You haven't seen him since you were just a little itty baby." He cooed at his grown grandson with baby eyes.

Ash stood as he blinked in surprise at Gary easily offering, but then again, Delia had always been like a mother to the other boy. Especially after his parents had died when he was young. He nodded his head in agreement as he walked forward and took two of the tickets right out of his hand. He'd go on this vacation and…

Oh…that wasn't a bad idea. He had heard about Alola before. Several trainers had come to his mountain with Pokemon he had never seen before and were strong, but had lost all the same. Those Pokemon though were…strange. He kinda wanted to see more of them.

But there was more to it than before. His mother, ill and weak and unable to handle another winter in Kanto. He needed to find a place for her to heal and live happily after all of the stress that had been caused from all of events of the past. This could possibly be the way for him to help his mother.

"So, we're going then." Gary stated with a smirk on his face. Ash just nodded his head as he stepped out of the living room and towards the lab where the computers were. He had some shopping to do.

TMS

All things were falling into place. This would make everything easier especially as he watched his mother be pushed towards the hotel they were staying in by Professor Oak. This would give him a chance to go and see what he had purchased in person.

"Want me to come with you?" Gary questioned the other teen as he watched the woman happily chat with the older man. The two were going to go and get settled into their hotel rooms and then out to the beach to relax in the warmth for a while.

Ash nodded his head as he turned off in a different direction with Gary falling into step next to him. "So, where are we going exactly? I know that you bought something but I don't know what or where it is." The Gym Leader began to talk.

The Mt. Silver Trainer wished he could talk back but he was unable to so he just let the other teen chat away. Gary had always liked talking, most likely because he liked the sound of his own voice, but it was familiar and soothing. Though he thought that Gary missed Paul and Alan since the two had returned to their own training and journeys. Trip had returned to Unova to speak with Alder while Clemont and Bonnie returned to Kalos so he could run his gym once more.

The Viridian Gym Leader had gotten along well with Alan and Paul both, the trio quickly becoming training partners and bettering each other. Now Gary was stuck with Ash for a conversation that was one sided only. He could sympathize though as he had only had his Pokemon and a very limited ability to communicate with them.

But either way, he was happy to have Gary come with him to see the place he had gotten. It had cost him only a fourth of his vast amount of wealth he had gathered. He'd also had pretty much everything furnished and all the important things moved over from Pallet Town already too.

He didn't think Gary would be expecting what he was about to show the other teen. "So, how much further are we going?" Said teen questioned next.

Ash just pointed ahead as they passed a Pokemon Center and to a one story house that was off near a cliff. There was another house that was a good twelve hundred feet away and down from a little hill. It seemed to be surrounded by trees and a cave behind the building as well. Gary blinked as he looked at the house that Ash was pointing at in disbelief. "A house?" He questioned as he stepped up closer to the building in horror.

He could have laughed at that face but his face stayed blank as he nodded his head. He wasn't going to wait for the spiky haired teen to knock sense into himself so he walked over to the house, pulling out a set of keys. He quickly unlocked the door and entered into the building.

"Wait up for me!" Gary cried as he jogged over and entered the house after Ash, looking around in surprise. "This place actually doesn't look that bad." He stated as he took in the blue couches in front of a new plasma TV, the matching blue recliner next to the couches, and then to the dinner table off to the side that had a little chandelier over it.

Then the kitchen that consumed a good portion of the room with the island counter that had black marble on it. New refrigerator, stove and oven, and microwave were all installed and ready to be used. He could see four different doors, one most likely leading to a bathroom and the other one near the living room led out to the porch that looked over the sea.

"This is really nice." Gary couldn't stop looking around as he took everything in. It really was a nice place. "Does this mean you aren't going to return to Kanto?" He looked over to where a wall was covered with all the badges that Ash had collected over the years and the Orange Island trophy he had won as well. Then there pictures of him and his mom and Gary and everyone Ash knew and everyone Delia knew as well. It felt like the house back in Kanto used to.

Ash nodded his head as he walked over to a door and opened it, taking in the nice new queen sized four poster bed with a purple comforter on it and several pillows. The sheer curtains were purple and the large windows were directly behind the bed and could give a nice breeze when needed. That would be his mother's room. He had made sure that the heirloom vanity was in one corner, near the walk in closet, and that her dressers with all of her clothes were there as well.

"Nice rooms. I'm guessing one is for you, your mom, and Mr. Mime?" Gary questioned as he looked over to Ash in question.

The teen nodded as he closed the door to his mother's room and over to the kitchen, checking the refrigerator to find that there was food and milk and all the things he had asked for there. Good, plenty of food. He also hired a cook to come in twice a day, breakfast and dinner, until his mother was ready to cook herself again. She was still weak and Ash would rather not have her cooking until she was able to stand for longer than five minutes. Besides, the girl he had hired seemed eager to work for some extra money and show her skills.

"It's really nice Ash. But how are you paying for this place? You haven't seriously battled in competitions for a long time and your Pokedex was…" HE stopped as he realized that Ash's Pokedex hadn't been found. That none of them had even looked into the possibility that it even still worked actually slammed into his face hard and he could hardly believe how stupid he felt at that moment. "You've had your Pokedex this entire time! Damn it all!" Gary growled before shaking it off and looking at his friend. "When are you going to tell Mrs. Ketchum about this place?"

Ash shrugged his shoulders before tilting his head to the side and walking back outside where he found a man that was taller than him, wearing a white baseball cap and lab coat, grey khakis, and tennis shoes. His hair was in a bun at the back of his head and he wore glasses. "Alola! You must be the newestowner of this place! Nice to meet you! I'm Professor Kukui and I live just down there." He pointed to the house that was nearer the beach than Ash's own.

The teen nodded his head at the older man before tilting his head to the side, offering him to enter the building. "Come on in dude!" Gary called out, startling the professor at the sudden voice out of nowhere. "You'll have to talk to me! Ash can't talk." HE explained when the man had come in to face the other. "I'm Gary Oak and this is Ash Ketchum."

"Nice to meet you two." Kukui said with a smile. "And just so you know, in Alola, a greeting is just Alola Gary and Ash. You can say that as well."

"That's nice, to have the region's name be the greeting as well." Gary chuckled as he tilted his own head. "So you're the professor for this region, correct?"

"Yep, and like I said, I live just down near the beach." Kukui threw a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of said house. "I just wanted to come and welcome the new residents and you two seem like you'll settle in just fine."

"Oh no, it's Ash and his mother, I'm just here on vacation." Gary waved his hands around before settling them on his hips. "And boy did I need it after I found this doofus up on Mt. Silver."

"Mt. Silver? Isn't that the harshest mountain in Kanto? The one that had the Legendary Trainer on top of it?" The look on the professor's face looked ecstatic and wanting the information.

"Yep, that's the one. And the legendary trainer….right here!" Ash was not impressed with the hand held out towards him, as if he was some sort of prize for someone. HE wanted to smack it but held that back as he looked back at the professor.

Who was directly in his face.

"You're the strongest trainer in the world?" He questioned excitedly, causing Ash to take a step back to get some space again.

"Well, he hasn't been beaten for three years. He even beat Steven Stone not too long ago." Gary said with raised brows. Neither of them were expecting for a professor to act like this, but then again, each one was strange in their own way.

"That's great! You see I'm looking for a champion for the league I'm putting together here in Alola! Each gym will be situated on each island, maybe two depending on the size of the island, and then the league will be at the top of Mount Lanakila near Tapu Village! You'd be right at home on the top of a freezing cold mountain!"

Ash couldn't even dispute that as the hot weather here in Alola was stifling already, but that was okay because it was for his mom. Though he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't already tempted to go up to the mountain and stake his claim on it.

"No, don't even think about it." Gary said. The look on his face was already saying that he knew what the other teen was thinking and disagreed with it mightily. "You just got off of one, you aren't going back up another!"

Ash just shrugged his shoulders as Kukui raised his hands up in a giving motion. "No worries anyways. He'd have to go through all of the Elite four, the Gyms, and the Island Trials to be made Champion. Then let's not forget that it'll be a while before the league is even ready to compete in." he explained calmly. "So there's plenty of time for him to think it over and decide if he wants to do it in the first place."

Gary just sighed as he ran a hand over his face already knowing what Ash would do but not even bothering going to fight against it. "Whatever, it's a while away and that gives you time to find a job and have your mother set up comfortably."

Ash nodded his head in agreement. He had already got a plan to start up a Tauros Rent Business. He had so many of them and they were all really well trained. He was sure that they'd make good transportation here in Alola. "A job? He needs a job does he?" Kukui spoke up again with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eye.

Neither teen liked the look he was giving them.

TMS

"Oh Ash, this is lovely." Delia said as Professor Oak pushed her wheelchair into the main room of her new house. "I can't believe you bought this place just for us."

Ash just shrugged his shoulders as he put some dishes away. He had been unpacking for some time now, a few hours, while Gary had gone and hunted down his mother and the professor. Most of the stuff had been unpacked except for a handful of boxes that had arrived the other day. Just before they had. He had to make sure that all the cookware was out before the girl arrived to start dinner. He didn't want her to think they had nothing for her to use after all.

"Yeah, he thought you could just stay here and bask in the sun. Winter is going to hit the Kanto region soon and he didn't want you to suffer through that while recovering." Gary explained for him as he put away some of the items from boxes. Little knickknacks that had been collected over the years by both Ash and his mother. "He's going to stay here with you as well." A glint entered those brown eyes of the Gym Leader as he looked over at the blank faced Ash. "He even has a job already."

Ash gave a hand sign to the other teen that was universally known. "Ash Ketchum! Don't use such foul hand language." Delia scolded in horror. Ash just shrugged his shoulders before putting a coffee cup away. "What is this job you're talking about Gary? Who will he be working for and where at?"

Delia wanted to know everything thing about Ash. Where he was, who he was with, how long he was going to be gone. Though it was understandable, Ash was already finding the constant questions annoying. Especially since he'd have to get pen and paper for the woman as she didn't know sign language.

Gary chuckled at the woman before looking over at his friend. "Well, I know that Ash already has his license for a business. He's going to be renting out his Tauros as ride Pokemon. All of them are really well trained and well behaved, so he'll make a nice profit there." He looked at his grandfather with a smirk next. "And it seems to be a habit living near a famous Pokemon professor for these two."

"Ah yes, that means the house just below is Professor Kukui's." The old man said with a smile. "He works there for his research and then he works at the Pokemon School here as well, teaching students all about his knowledge of Pokemon and bringing in special guests to help out now and then." He blinked as a thought connected and he turned towards Ash with an amused smile. "Oh, so the Professor has already been here then?"

Ash nodded his head just as the doorbell rang, startling everyone but the raven in the room. He just turned and walked over to the door and opened it to reveal a girl with long green hair in pigtails and a dark green headband with a pink flower on it that kept her bangs out of her face. She wore blue overalls shorts with a pink shirt underneath. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Ash in excitement. "Mallow reporting for duty!" She exclaimed as she saluted him with the wrong hand.

He could already tell, just like all the other people he had met on his journeys, that this girl was eccentric in a way that would most likely drive him nuts.

She'd fit in with the rest of his friends easily.

He moved out of the doorway and motioned for her to enter, ignoring the stares from his mom and professor Oak. "Well hello there, you must be the chef that Ash hired." Gary stepped forward with a smirk on his face and a hand held out. "I'm Gary Oak, this is my grandfather Samuel Oak, this is Delia Ketchum Ash's mother, and that guy over there is Ash." He introduced quickly to make sure she knew everyone.

"Hello!" Mallow cheered with a bright smile. "It great to meet you Professor Oak! You must be Principal Oak's cousin!" She enthused as she was right in front of the older man in a nanosecond. "I hear your haikus are the best!"

"Oh well, thank you! I try my best for many others! That is my goal!" Oak recited happily back to her!

"That was great!" She cheered once more before turning and waving to everyone else. "Alola! I'm happy to cook for you all!"

"Cook?" Delia questioned with a hand up to her mouth as Mr. Mime frowned at the announcement as well. "Oh dear no, I'm afraid you won't have to do that. I cook for my friends and family." She explained gently as she moved to stand from her wheelchair to prove that point.

Ash instantly was next to her, catching her as her knees buckled beneath her. HE settled her back in her chair with a raised brow.

"Oh, don't give me that look." Delia scolded as she pouted herself. "Alright then, I guess I can't cook right now."

Gary chuckled as he walked to stand on the other side of the woman. "That's why Ash hired a cook. SO that you can heal and get your meals without stressing."

Delia pouted for a moment longer before sighing and smiling at the girl. "I hope we aren't hassling you to do this. I know young girls like you probably have a whole lot to do."

"No problem. I work at the restaurant that my dad runs! So I know how to cook really well. Professor Kukui knows about this as well, so he'll excuse me if I run late once in a while." She explained quickly as a little pink Pokemon appeared from around his legs, looking up at the humans in the room.

"Oh, hello there." Professor Oak smiled at the little pink ball of cuteness. "It seems you have a little friend accompanying you."

"Oh yeah, this is Bounsweet. She's a grass type that I caught a long time ago. She's been my partner ever since!" Mallow explained as she swept the little Pokemon into her arms. "She also helps serves at my father's restaurant and helps me cook as well. Her sweet scent is also really effective."

"Well, it's obvious that you really love your Pokemon." Gary chuckled as they all watched the girl nuzzle her laughing Pokemon in pure bliss. "You'll fit in here with Delia and Ash just fine."

The girl looked up at the older teen in confusion, wondering what he was talking about. "Oh, how do you mean?"

"We love Pokemon." Delia clapped her hands together in excitement as Mr. Mime stood next to her waving his hands around happily. "We always have and we even have multitudes of Pokemon with us that are outside and wondering around now." She explained as she waved her hands towards the balcony doors where one could see a herd of Tauros grazing and several other Pokemon running or flying about.

"Pretty much all of them belong to Ash, so most are super kind and relaxed, but beware of the more aggressive ones. They love to battle and will take any challenge presented them." Prof. Oak nodded his head in assertion. He knew exactly how mean Ash's strongest could get when they were bored and had no challenge.

"I see! I'll be careful then! Me and Bounsweet aren't really the battling type at the moment we're too focused on cooking and school." She laughed at her own admittance.

"That's fine, no worries." Garry assured before waving to the kitchen. "Might as well get started on that dinner though. We're all starving."

"Oh! Right away!" Mallow saluted once more, wrong hang again, and ran to the kitchen where she started pulling out ingredients, pots and pans, utensils, and everything else she would need to make a gourmet meal for this group of people.

Ash could only nod before he turned and walked out onto the balcony, watching his Pokemon wonder around the new area in curiosity and claiming the surrounding land as their own. They had done the same up on Mt. Silver and now they would do the same in this area. He hoped the Professor down below wouldn't mind the native wild Pokemon running away in terror because of his own.

"So, what now?" Gary asked as he walked out as well, leaning next to his friend as he looked up at the slowly darkening sky.

The Mt. Silver Trainer shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea. It would be hard to find out, especially since he had to take care of his mother most of the time until she was able to walk by herself again. Mr. Mime would be able to help her change clothes and bathe but going out and about Ash would have to be there to make nothing terrible happened.

HE shook his head before looking at where the sun had set and the stars had appeared. It was so much more peaceful and tranquil that Kanto's own plateau like lands. The sound of the waves were soothing and the roars of his Pokemon reminded him that he was protected.

Except for when a strange Pokemon with and orange Mohawk and strange yellow shield like contraptions on its arms appeared in front of him out of nowhere.

While Ash and Gary stared in shock at the sudden appearance of this Pokemon, it snatched Ash's hat and took off into the sky with a mocking cry back for the two.

TMS

A.N. Haha! We're in Alola! This'll be absolutely fun to write next cause it'll be a mix between the anime and the games for this one. So you better all review and let me know how you're liking it ok! That'll be motivation into writing this thing ya know! I hope you all liked this one! Review and let me know! Until next time!


	10. Bonus Chapter: Christmas Alone

Bonus Chapter

Christmas Alone

Cold.

That was what he felt while he stood on top of the mountain, staring off into the horizon. Waiting. Watching. Hoping. Trying. And so many other things that he just didn't understand or want to think about.

Screams and blood and death.

All of it invaded his mind, some of the only memories he had at the moment. Of just death. Of decay. Of watching people fall at his feet. As he watched his Pokemon rampage next to the mighty figure of the legendary Pokemon.

So much pain.

He shook his head as he looked down at the earth, down towards where he knew that little town at the base of the mountain was situated.

He could see lights glowing. Not just the normal yellow lights of lightbulbs inside though. Colorful lights that were flashing and blinking and so many other patterns to them as well. As if they were celebrating something that needed to have colorful lights and excitement. He bet that if he went further down the hill, he could hear laughter and cheers and screams of joy.

He wouldn't allow himself that privilege. Not now at least. It was too soon and everything was too raw still.

He had no good memories of what was occurring. All he could remember were the flashing lights of the Officers' cars and the screams of the dying. He wasn't sure what they were all celebrating down at the bottom of the hill, but he wouldn't be joining them.

Not until he could remember something good and numb the pain in his soul.

"Pika Pi?" A little voice called from at his feet, forcing him to look down at the little shivering yellow mouse staring up at him.

He gave a faint smile as he held his arms out to the little mouse, allowing it to jump into his arms and burrow into the blue sip up jacket he was wearing to warm up.

All of his Pokemon were with him. There on the mountain. All the fire types helping to keep them warm and comfortable in the caves he had found at the top of the mountain. He had several of his flying types and those capable of maneuvering the strong winds go and get hay and branches and other things to make a sort of nest inside to allow them to sleep comfortably.

None of them ventured out unless it was to train or go and gather supplies. It was just too cold most times to leave the cave.

They'd been up there for what he would estimate to be a single month. They were adjusting but it would take a little more time before they could completely ignore the cold and winds. He himself was taking time to adjust though he was doing it a lot better than some of his bug, flying, and grass types for obvious reasons.

"Pika pi?" That noise again. He looked down into his jacket to see Pikachu staring at him in worry. It obviously didn't want him outside at the moment. He could see the storm clouds heading in their direction as well. It would be time to head in and settle in with his Pokemon. He'd have Glalie come out and use blizzard to block the entrance and make sure none of the incoming rain, hail, or snow would be able to get too far into the cave. None of his weaker Pokemon would need to suffer because of their natural weaknesses.

He traveled far into the caves, ignoring two of the branching off tunnels and walking down the one that had a warm glow down it. He knew that Charizard, Infernape, Pignite, Torkoal, Quilava, Braixen, and Talonflame were all working together to keep everyone warm, but they were also tiring a little bit more all the time. Their stamina would hopefully improve as they got used to expanding the energy but he wasn't going to push them beyond a point of no return.

He looked at the large nest of Pokemon, smiling as all of them were huddled together to keep warm, Glalie was off in the corner though, a smile on its face as it enjoyed the coldness. Ash grinned softly before walking over to the ice type and sending it off to block the tunnel off. That would help keep more of the warmth here and keep anyone from tiring too fast.

With that thought and worry taken care of, he walked over to his Pokemon and settled against Snorlax, using the plushy softness of its fur to help give further warmth.

Pikachu burrowed further into his chest while Bayleef, Oshawatt, Buizel, Noivern, Snivy, and Gible cuddled against him from all sides. Swellow settled with the other flying types on top of Snorlax with contentment. The normal type just let out a large snore as it adjusted to the new weight against and on it.

Soon they were all cuddled together with the fire types surrounding them, keeping warm and content as a blizzard raged on the outside world.

And for the first time in a month, Ash Ketchum fell asleep and slept through the night without a single bad dream.

TMS

The noise.

It was horrendous, but he was loving it. The sounds of laughter, shrieks of outrage, screams of excitement were all flying around his house as he watched the kids run around, chasing each other and their Pokemon joining in to add to the chaos.

His mother was behind him in the kitchen, listening to the laughter as well, a smile on her face that smoothed out some of the worried wrinkles on her face. The woman had done well and had gotten much better since they had moved to Alola. She missed some of her friends in Kanto but over all, the move had been good for her.

Ash could only think about the fact that this move had been good for him as well. Though he was still unable to speak and his laughter was silent, his soul felt so much better. So much freer than it had.

The nightmares came and went but not near as frequently.

The excitement for Pokemon had only grown, especially since his interaction with Tapu Koko had appeared in his life.

And then there was the little cloud Pokemon, Nebby, that had entered into his life. He glanced over into the kitchen where the little one was floating around his mother, enjoying the little tastes the woman would give it now and then. Pikachu was sitting on the counter to the woman as well, enjoying those same little sneaks as well. Ash just rolled his eyes as he had told his mother to stop giving the Pokemon people food a long time ago, but the woman never listened. He'd just have to deal with it either way.

In any case, he looked around a little more with a smile. Enjoying the shouting and laughter as everyone played games to celebrate the holidays. Christmas was the next day and his mother wanted to throw a party for the kids before they all separated to go and spend it with their families.

He had to admit that this had been a great idea.

Even Professor Burnet and Kukui was there, enjoying the atmosphere and even joining in on the games. Rotom was also enjoying itself as it took pictures upon pictures of the event.

He could only laugh and smile as he looked at the group of people that was making his home warm and cozy.

A feeling he only ever thought he would feel from his Pokemon.

TMS

A.N. Just a short bonus chapter for the holidays! I hope you all like it. I haven't quite introduced what exactly happened to Ash, but this'll be a small introduction to it. So don't worry about the gloomy edge to this too much.

Anyways! I hope everyone has a good holiday and a happy new years! Be safe and don't drink and drive! See you guys all next year!

I would like everyone to think about some of the authors on Fanfiction that died recently or a while ago. Some of them died in tragic accidents or illnesses and have left stories unfinished or had others finish them for them in memory. I would like everyone reading this to lower their heads, clasp their hands together and pray for those who have been lost. Allow there to be a moment of silence for wherever you, the reader, are and remember not just the writers here on this site but those who have been lost in your life or in tragic events.

Please remember that life is short and that you should love those in your life while you can and show your appreciation for water comes into your life.

Again, thanks to those who have lost their lives for spreading inspiration through their works.


	11. Battling a Guardian Deity

Chapter Ten

Battling a Guardian Deity

"What the hell was that!?" Gary shouted as he watched the Pokemon disappear towards the forest with wide eyes.

Ash narrowed his eyes before leaping over the balcony and took off running. He figured that he would be able to find it without too much of a problem, especially as it had seemed to target him specifically while dodging all of his highly trained Pokemon surrounding his house.

That meant one thing and one thing only.

A Legendary.

He snapped his finger three times as he ran and instantly his three top Pokemon were at his side. Pikachu had leapt onto Charizard's back, riding the fire type until they were closer and he could use his speed effectively against the Pokemon. Greninja kept stride with Ash himself easily, waiting for the signal to go into their bonded state.

All three would withstand attacks from Legendary, most of his Pokemon could truth be told, but they would also be able to attack effectively and cause damage. They would be useful against this legendary that came to mock and challenge him.

"Hey! Wait up!" Gary shouted as he leapt over the balcony and took off as well. There was no way in hell he was going to miss this. Though he didn't think that his grandfather and the two ladies inside would be incredibly happy with them for just taking off like that.

But this was one of those times where they needed to take off at a run.

He'd have to explain later, but until then, he ran with all he was. Greninja kept pace as they moved and Charizard took off further ahead with Pikachu, looking out for the Pokemon that had taken his hat. He could hear Gary behind him, panting slightly as they all out ran.

Probably wasn't easy in flip flops either, though that's Gary's fault for wearing them when around Ash. The teen knew what trouble his friend got into all the time, so Ash felt little sympathy for him. He should have known better after all.

Together they all entered into the forest, leaping across trees or dodging limbs to get further in. Ash relied heavily on his water type to lead him true, knowing that his Pokemon's sense were much better than his own, especially when they weren't in their bonded state. Thankfully due to their training, they were able to rely on one another easily.

"Come on Ash!" Gary gasped behind him, having shed his sandals so that he could run a lot more easily. "How far are we gonna have to go to catch up with this thing?"

He shrugged back at him, snapping his fingers. Pikachu would know what to do as soon as he registered the order.

The little electrical mouse's ears shot straight up and listened while they ran. Greninja's body tensed while Charizard's wings seemed to take a little longer to flap and his claws were left ready to attack.

They were well into the forest when it happened.

An orange Mohawk Pokemon appeared directly in front of him, his hat on said Mohawk. He came to a halt immediately, trying hard to keep from slamming into the Pokemon while his Pokemon all landed around him, Pikachu's cheeks sparking in warning from atop the fire types head. The Pokemon glanced at the electric type before reaching up and removing the hat from its head and setting it onto the trainer's head. "What's going on you think?" Gary whispered from where he had come to a stop behind the other, eyes on the Pokemon.

Ash didn't reply as he watched the other Pokemon fly backwards and away from him for a few yards. It came to a stop before slamming the two like shield halves together in front of it and then falling into a familiar position.

It wanted a battle.

Ash frowned as he looked at what had to be a legendary Pokemon. There was no way this thing was anything else but a legendary. The feeling of power radiating off of it spoke of how powerful it was. Then there was the fact that all of his Pokemon were moving restlessly. Each one was moving in a way that spoke of their agitation. Pikachu was sparking at the cheeks. Charizard's wings were flapping and embers were being emitted from his mouth. Greninja was crouched close to the ground, a cut shining in its hand ready to use.

None of them would be this restless if this Pokemon was weaker than them.

His Pokemon were nowhere near weak.

The only thing left that could cause such restlessness in them would be Legendary Pokemon.

Pokemon that were nowhere on the same scale as normal everyday Pokemon and were normally the only ones of their kind and therefore fiercer to hold their place.

This could get bad very quickly, which meant one thing for him to do. He didn't even blink when the water erupted around Greninja. He wasn't going to hold back even a little bit here.

The Pokemon in front of them quickly screeched and a wide yellow arc lashed out towards them, tinging the area around them in yellow. He should switch over to Pikachu, but he and Greninja were both ready for a fight and eager for a challenge.

It had been too long without a challenge and now here was a Pokemon willing to give them one.

"Ash! Be careful!" Gary called from behind, Charizard standing next to him with Pikachu having settled onto his shoulder. He could tell that this battle could turn dangerous for his friend if they weren't careful, though he wasn't sure why this legendary wanted to attack like it was.

The other didn't acknowledge him though as Greninja leapt forward, both Trainer and Pokemon making the motions for Cut with the twin kunai appearing. The water type didn't wait and so sliced at the other Pokemon, croaking in annoyance when the yellow like shields blocked his attack and pushed him away.

They hadn't been stopped cold in their tracks like this in a long time. This was truly a legendary Pokemon that could withstand their power without flinching.

They roared together as they flipped out of the way of a familiar yellow ball of electricity, glaring at the other in even more annoyance. But then there was the excitement that bubbled up from their stomach and into their throat before spreading throughout their body. It had been so long since a challenge came and they were going to enjoy this, no matter how it ended.

So with that thought in mind, they slammed a water pulse into the ground, watching as it drenched the ground and caused the electricity in the ground to spark wildly. They weren't worried though as they used their tongue to pull them onto a tree.

This was a move similar to what Infernape would do when some sort of status effect took over the field. Dig deep and flare wildly with flames to burn out the illness.

This though, they knew, would short circuit the electric terrain and diminish the electric boost. They shot off several more water pulses, watching as the sparking terrain disappeared and returned to the normal green of the forest.

They didn't wait for the Pokemon to realize what they had done and instead leapt forward with Cut activated once more, but they pushed darkness into the blades as well. A move they hadn't had a chance to test but willing to use in this case.

The Pokemon chirped at them happily, dodging the dark blades of power easily, as if they were beginners who had no experience at all. This sent a thrill of excitement and frustration boiling into them but they stamped them down so that they could lash out with their tongue. They watched in amazement as the tongue slammed fully into the Pokemon's surprised face.

They froze where they stood, watching as the Pokemon seemingly struggled to move. Their attack had landed.

They pulled the tongue back and shot forward, slamming a dark cut into the Pokemon's chest and sent it flying backwards.

They stopped cold in their tracks as the Pokemon floated back up into the air with an air of something.

The battle had ended, they were sure of that much. They blinked at the Pokemon, their head tilting as they watched it float over to them and looked them over before looking over their head and behind them.

Right. They forgot sometimes that they were two separate beings instead of one. _Good job Greninja._ And there he was finally. Greninja smirked and nodded his head as they allowed their bond to fade backwards and his transformed state disappeared as well as that comforting presence at the back of his head.

The Pokemon watched as he returned to his normal state before floating over him and to Ash. Greninja instantly turned and leapt over to his Trainer's side, croaking in warning as the Pokemon came to a stop in front of both of them.

The Pokemon nodded in acknowledgement but otherwise ignored him. Ash tilted his head in curiosity as shield like Pokemon suddenly reached down into the orange skirt like bottom and pulled out a black like bracelet.

"Whoa, what's that?" Gary questioned as he stepped forward as the bracelet floated down in front of Ash. "I think it wants you to have it." Ash could only hope Gary didn't state the obvious like that or he might go mad.

The red trainer looked up at the orange and yellow Pokemon and raised a brow. He got a nod in return and so reached out with a hand, only startling a little when the bracelet floated onto his wrist without prompting.

He looked down and saw a yellow diamond jewel with a lightning bolt in the middle of it. He titled his head curiously before looking back up at the Pokemon.

Only it was gone.

He blinked in surprise before looking at the bracelet once more, taking in the dark tones of the bracelet. It was mostly all black except for the front where a triangle of white poked out and in the middle was like a lightning bolt of white design. It was simple really but he felt that it fit him as well.

"Well, it seems that it was this thing that it wanted to give you." Gary said as he came to stand next to the other teen. "Think we should go talk to that one Professor to find out what this is and why you got it?" He questioned as he shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for an answer.

Ash shrugged his shoulders in the end before snapping his fingers and pointing in the direction of the house.

The Pokemon took off at once with Gary and Ash right behind them. They'd go back to the house for the night and figure out what to do in the morning. There was little they could do now with little information they had.

Neither boy liked it though.

TMS

"Alola!" Kukui said the next morning after he had knocked on their door. "It's good to see you up and moving." The professor was quickly introduced to Delia and Professor Oak a moment later.

"It is good to meet you finally." The older professor said with a smile. "My cousin has told me quite a bit about you and I'm rather interested in the research you do on Pokemon moves."

"I'd be more than happy to show you it later today!" Kukui enthused as he became excited about the original Pokemon Professor his work. He couldn't wait to show him all he had found on the foundations of Pokemon moves and their strengths. It would be exciting. "But I came to pick up Ash and Mallow for school."

"Oh, that's right!" Oak said with a fist falling into his palm. "I forgot Ash had gotten another job working for you. Would you mind terribly if the rest of us came as well, I've never been to the Alola Pokemon School and would like to tour it?"

"I don't see why not! I hope you don't mind a walk there since it's not too far from here." Was explained next.

Ash could only sigh when the Professor nodded his head in excitement and he turned to his dozing mother. The woman was resting in the recliner he had bought with her feet up. Mr. Mime was walking around and sweeping the floor with a smile on his face. Gary was ready a newspaper at the island while Mallow stood opposite him wrapping some food to be put away for later.

He really didn't want to wake his mother but he knew that the professor and his grandson would want to go to, so he figured he could wake the woman and see if she wanted to go. If she didn't, then he'd have Bulbasaur come in with Mr. Mime and keep an eye on her.

With that thought in mind, he walked over to his mom and gently shook her shoulder, bringing her from the doze. "Hmm, what is it sweety?" She questioned with a smile on her face.

He quickly picked up one of the pads of paper that were scattered around the house and wrote upon it. _'Gotta go to work, Professor Oak and Gary both want to come and tour the school. Do you want to come or rest here for now?'_

"I'll come." She said in an instant, pushing the leg of the recliner down…or trying to. "Oh darn." She muttered as she reached down to the handle and lowered it that way. "Can you get my wheelchair for me and we can get going."

Ash just nodded and did as asked, easily getting her settled in her wheelchair with a blanket over her lap. "We ready to go?" Gary called, having been told by his grandfather the plan.

"I'm ready!" Mallow stated with a raised hand and a smile on her face. "I can't wait to introduce you guys to all of my friends at school! They'll love you guys!"

"I'm sure they'll love the Pokemon that Ash is bringing with him even more." Gary drawled as he watched Ash run a hand over his six Pokeballs just before a familiar yellow rodent appeared on his shoulder. "They'll get a kick out of seeing them all."

"That too!" She agreed easily, sticking a tongue out at him playfully. "I bet they'll love yours as well!"

Gary puffed up at that, almost like his Arcanine when it won a battle. "But of course! I'm the Gym Leader of Viridian City! I've got some great Pokemon!"

Ash rolled his eyes as Pikachu jumped from his shoulder to his mother's lap just before he began to push her out the door and down the ramp he had to special order. The house originally had no ramps and he wasn't going to make his mother climb steps when she was too weak.

"So tell me about your friends Mallow. What are they like?" Delia questioned with a smile at the young girl walking next to her.

The girl put a finger to her chin in thought for a moment as she thought of her friends. "Well, there's Lana and she's a fisher and water type trainer." She began with a smile. "All the Pokemon she's got are ones she caught while fishing. She likes to joke around a lot though and sometimes with such a straight face that we sometimes fall for it!"

Ash smirked at the description, mind running towards another water type he knew. A specific red head that was dating his childhood friend in fact.

"And then there's Sophocles, our Electric type trainer." She stared next as she turned to walk backwards so that she could walk in front of Delia and Ash and still look them in the eyes. "He's super smart and likes to build all sorts of things. He's not very athletic though and is really easily winded."

His Lumiose friend came to mind this time. The other scientist and this kid sounded like they'd get along just fine.

"Then there's Kiawe! He's always so fired up and I think that's because he's a fire type trainer. He doesn't do anything halfway and tends to go a little overboard sometimes." She laughed at a memory while she rubbed the back of her head.

A tendency to go over board? Well, as long as it wasn't like Brock with females, then he didn't see a problem with that really. That could actually take the kid far if he worked really hard.

"The final one is Lillie. She's really shy and unsure, but super smart! She's made recipes for certain types of Pokemon food and it's superb for the Pokemon!" She exclaimed happily.

That sounded like a certain connoisseur he had met in Unova. He smiled at the reminder of the food that person had made and how much his Pokemon had liked it.

"Though she's terrified of Pokemon."

That stopped him in his tracks as he blinked his eyes, trying to remember a face from forever ago. Another person who was terrified of Pokemon.

"Ash, dear, are you alright?" Delia questioned as she looked over her shoulder to stare at the blank face of her son. She knew what that face was as well, having seen it several times when he was thinking deeply and trying to remember something. "Don't worry honey, it'll come back to you before you know it." She assured with a smile.

Ash shook his head to clear his mind before nodding at his mother and continuing on. He listened to everyone speak the rest of the trip up to the school, his mind latching onto the sounds of Pokemon around him and people walking by them. He wondered if some of them were coming from the school or elsewhere, and what type of Pokemon they had and if they would be a challenge.

He felt one of his Pokeballs shake at that thought but tapped it quickly to still it. He knew that all of his Pokemon were looking for challenges to face and a new threat to challenge. It had been too long ago that they had spent a few months running around Kalos removing the evil energy from the earth and then the challenge of Mt. Silver afterwards. All of which turned out to be easier than they had thought because they had adjusted easily.

Then that Pokemon with the orange Mohawk came to mind again. He wondered if there were more Pokemon on this island like that that would give him a challenge. That would be great.

That Pokeball wiggled again but calmed on its own a second later. He rolled his eyes at the Pokemon, knowing that it would want to go look for that Pokemon so they could face it once more. His Greninja always loved to go and face challenges head on.

He came to a stop though when he saw four figures standing in front of a gate that was what could only be the school entrance. Three facing one.

The three were dressed as delinquents with black shorts and tank tops and then bandanas that made them look as if they were smiling skeleton like smirks with black and white beanies on their heads. The one facing them was dark skinned and was wearing red and black shorts and then sandals on his feet. A necklace of some sort around his neck with black and red hair.

"Ah, looks like Kiawe has found some trouble to get into." Mallow pouted with her hands on her hips. "He's always getting into fights with Team Skull. So pointless."

"Who are Team Skull then?" Gary questioned with a raised brow, watching as the three demanded the other kid's Pokemon. "It almost looks like a knockoff of Team Rocket."

"Close." Kukui cut in with a frown on his face. "They do steal other peoples' Pokemon and then uses them for their own use."

Just then Ash watched as a black lizard was called out and a splat of purple spew flew towards the kid and his Charizard.

Only for the Charizard to bat it away with a steel wing where it came flying straight at them.

Pikachu moved instantly and used his own Iron tail to slam the gunk to the ground and safely away from them.

But that didn't stop Ash from shoving Oak directly behind his mother's wheelchair and walking over to stand next to the boy with the Charizard, Pikachu riding his shoulder.

"What do you want?" The girl of the group questioned, pink hair falling out from her beanie.

"Do you want us to take your Pokemon too?" The tall skinny boy said with a smug sounding voice.

"We could if you want! No charge even needed." The short squat boy stated next.

"Get back, I'll handle this." The Charizard boy said with a scowl at the other trainer. Ash just ignored him and instead snapped his fingers.

Pikachu jumped down so he was sitting in front of the trainer, waiting for further orders or so it seemed to the untrained eyes. "It looks like we have another Opponent!" The girl stated as she threw three balls into the air, releasing three zubats.

"Yeah, this'll be easy!" The Tall Skinny one said as he released two more of the black lizards.

"We can take them no prob." The fat one said and released three weasel like Pokemon.

Ash blinked at the two new Pokemon but then his eyes narrowed as Pikachu wasted no time in attacking.

Before any of them could blink, all nine Pokemon were out cold and trembling with electricity surging through their bodies.

"What just happened?" One questioned in horror.

"We need to get out of here!" The girl shouted as she recalled her Pokemon, her companions copying her quickly. "You'll hear about this from our boss!" She screamed as they rode off on their bikes.

"I had it covered!" The boy shouted but Ash ignored it as he grabbed the kid by the arm and dragged him over to where his mother sat in her wheelchair and then pointed at the ground.

The kid looked down to see the sludge that he had knocked away just in front of the woman in the wheelchair. He blinked before looking up at the woman and then at the man that held him. "Oh…" He said as it clicked as to what had happened.

"You need to pay attention to your surroundings Kiawe." Kukui stated sternly. "If Ash hadn't of blocked the Sludge bomb then his mother could have been seriously harmed from it."

"I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed as he bowed in front of the woman repeatedly. "I had no clue you were there, otherwise I would have never had Charizard bat the attack towards you!" He exclaimed while his Charizard stood behind him and puffed out an apology as well.

"Oh it's okay." Delia said with a wave of her hand and a smile. "Things like this happens all the time."

"This is why you're supposed to battle in the battle fields!" Mallow said next as she threw her arms up. "Those are made to keep attacks from hitting the audience!"

"She's right." Gary agreed as he walked over to stand in front of the dark skinned teen. "Your battling was good, I'll give you that, but you forgot your surroundings and put people around you in danger." He explained with a frown. "Once you forget to do that, you start acting like those three did, or worse, like Team Rocket."

"I'm sorry!" Kiawe shouted again with another bow. "I'll pay attention from now on and make sure that no one gets hurt from my battling again!"

Ash could only roll his eyes before patting the kid on the head. Hopefully his mother wouldn't be put into that sort of danger again, especially when an old man is her only way to move around at the moment. Either way they were going to be late if they didn't get a move on.

He waved at the group and motioned towards the school. "Ah, yes, let's go before everyone else starts to wonder where we are." Kukui said with a smile. "Don't want to be any later than we are after all."

With that he took the lead to the school where he led the group inside and to a door with a plaque on it. 'Principal Oak.' The principal's office then. "We'll leave you three here then while us three head on to class. I still have to introduce Ash and then Mallow and Kiawe needs to join their classmates."

"Thank you for escorting us here!" Professor Oak said as he shook hands with the other professor. "We'll come and watch class once we've caught up with my cousin. I'm sure he'll be excited to see Gary and meet Delia."

With they separated, leaving Ash to follow the Alola Professor and students. He huffed slightly in annoyance but also relief to get a break from his mother. He knew that she loved him but he had lived on his own for what seemed to be centuries and was used to taking care of himself. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to stand the suffocation of his mother's love and worry.

"Hey guys! We're here!" Mallow shouted as they entered a classroom with five desks facing a chalkboard. There he caught sight of three other students, all with sun warmed skin from being outside often but nowhere near as dark as Kiawe's own. A ginger haired boy that was rather rotund, a blue haired girl with mischievousness glinting in her sapphire eyes, and then a pale blond haired girl with a giant white hat.

He easily put names to faces easily, thanks to Mallow's descriptions from earlier. Each one looked capable in their own way, so that would make this a little easier when he put them through his own training regime.

He hoped they survived the first week.

Each student froze and shivered as a chill climbed up their spines, instilling fear into them. Something was going to happen and it was most certainly not good.

That was the moment when Kukui decided to get their attention onto him. "Good morning class! Let me start today by introducing the newest member of staff, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. He's here to give you all battle training."

TMS

A.N. Been forever but here's the next chapter. Not exactly happy with it but it's getting it to where I want to go and before you all freak out, I know I changed the Z Ring earlier than in the anime. There's a reason for that! Until then though, I hope you guys review and tell me what you thought!


	12. Beating in Strategies

Chapter Eleven

Beating in Strategies

"Battle Training?" Sophocles questioned with a tilted head. "Why are we getting battle training now? I thought we were only going to get theoretical studies at the moment."

"Yeah. Though I can't say I'm not excited about this." Lana said with a glint in her eyes. "Popplio and I can get some real experience this way and battle a Kyogre!"

"For real!?" Mallow questioned the blue haired girl with her own eyes sparkling. "You think you'll be able to fight Kyogre with this battle training?"  
Lana stuck her tongue out and shook her head. "Most likely not." She admitted with a giggle.

"Not cool!" The greenette shouted before turning back towards their professor. "Do you think that Ash will be able to help us come up with better battle strategies?"

"That's the plan." Kukui nodded as he stood in front of the blackboard so that he could stare at all of his students. "Ash is a seasoned Pokemon Trainer. He's battled in all the current Pokemon Leagues and plans on challenging the Alola Island Challenge as well." He explained as said trainer moved to stand in front of the desk and lean against it. Pikachu landed on the desk and looked over the students.

"Has he won any of the leagues he's battled in?" Kiawe questioned next. "If he's battled so many before, than he must be a champion of one of them?"

Ash shook his head just as Kukui smirked at them. "He hasn't won a league but he's beaten every single challenger that came to him on top of Mt. Silver in Kanto."  
The room fell silent at this, all the kids' eyes turning to stare at the trainer in red with wide eyes. There was no way that this teen was the famous Mt. Silver trainer that destroyed any and all challengers with only one Pokemon.

"So he'll be teaching you today, listen well and follow his instructions so that he can lead you to be better trainers." Kukui stated with a smile.

Ash nodded at the teens before walking over to the blackboard. "What are you going to have us do today?" Lillie questioned nervously.

The older teen said nothing as he grabbed some chalk and began to write on the blackboard. He had no clue if any of them knew sign language, let alone his region's or Kalos region's sign language. So he would have to resort to just writing for these kids at this moment.

 _"My name is Ash Ketchum and I'll be your battle instructor. Today we are just going to go outside and I will test the compatibility and bond between you and your Pokemon."  
_

"How are you going to do that?" Sophocles frowned as he looked around the room. "There's four of us who can battle you, but that would take all day, let alone a class period to do."

Ash looked at the ginger haired kid before he tapped his Pokemon belt where six Pokeballs sat, Pikachu on his shoulder twitched his nose at them in amusement.

"Oh, I see!" Lillie spoke up in excitement. "You'll allow them to battle different Pokemon all at the same time!"

Ash looked at the blonde hair girl on nodded his head in agreement. He had a plan for the girl in white though. He knew he had once known someone terrified of Pokemon, so he figured he could help her out as well. He had the perfect Pokemon on him that could work with her slowly and carefully.

He just hoped that the bug type would be able to do as he asked. It was normally rather patient and capable, so he figured it would do well. It was just luck he had decided to bring it too, otherwise he wouldn't have a Pokemon for the girl to try and connect with.

 _"Head out to the training fields outside and we'll get started."_ With that last written message he turned and left the classroom. The kids hurried to follow after, shrieking for him to wait up for them.

He could only smirk as he walked away from them, not bothering to slow down or wait for them at all. He wouldn't coddle them or be kind. His job was to make them stronger than they were at the moment.

Once he had all the kids outside, he directed them to a battle field, even Lillie was placed at one as well.

"So, what Pokemon will we be facing?" Lana questioned excitedly. "You're really strong, so maybe we'll face something just as strong like Entei!"

"For real!?" The others questioned with excitement while Ash just rolled his eyes, walking over to Kiawe.

"No chance." She replied to them with her tongue stuck out.

"You are so mean!" Mallow groaned as the others slumped in exasperation.

Ash tapped his foot on the ground as he waited and only once their eyes were back on him did he pull out a Pokeball and throw it. "You have got to be kidding me." Kiawe groaned as his eyes roved over the little grass type Pokemon. "You can't expect me to fight that!?" He yelled at Ash, but sweat dropped when he saw that Ash had walked away from him to stand in front of Lana on the next field.

Lana waited excitedly and squealed when a fire type roared in front of her. "Oh my gosh! I can't wait! Are you excited Popplio?" She questioned her Partner who barked in its own excitement.

Mallow could only smile as a little water type appeared in front of her. Her Bounsweet would have the advantage and she figured that that was why these Pokemon were chosen to face them.

Sophocles could only stare at the rather cool looking Pokemon standing in front of him. Though it wasn't as big as the fire type down a ways, it was still taller than the grass or other water type. "Wow, you look so cool!"

Lillie stood in her own place as Ash released the bug type in front of her before turning to all the rest of them with a raised brow.

"Oh! We can start?" Lana questioned with a smile before turning to the fire type. "Just so you know, Popplio is strong!" She warned with a smile.

Charizard huffed out a breath of flames before looking down at the little water type, waiting.

Kiawe could only stare over at the ginormous Charizard in horror before his gaze turned back towards the Bulbasaur that sat waiting for him to make a move. "Oh man, Lana gets the cool Pokemon and I have to face a weed." He grumbled as he pulled out a Pokeball, missing the irritation that formed on the Seed Pokemon's face. "Ah well, this should be a quick battle than, let's go Turtonator!" He released the fire dragon type to roar its arrival. "Alright, let's make this quick and take out that Pokemon with Flamethrower!"

The dragon gave it's trainer a look before huffing and spitting out a flamethrower that soon wreathed the area that the little grass type sat. "That should do it." He stated with a sigh, going to turn to see how the others were doing.

Only to whip his head back around when his best Pokemon roared in pain.

He stared in horror as little seedlings wrapped around his Pokemon, holding to him tightly. "No!" Kiawe shouted as he looked to see where the Bulbasaur sat, not even a single mark on it with a smug smile. "That's not possible!" He shouted just as long vines shot out and wrapped around the giant Pokemon before throwing it up into the air. Both trainer and Pokemon watched as Turtonator came falling back to the ground. It hit the ground and caused a cloud of dust to rise and the ground to shake.

"Turtonator! Are you okay?" He called out, waiting to see if he could see his friend. "Turtonator?" He gulped as the dust began to disperse and revealed his friend standing up and glaring at the grass type. "Alright! Let's take this thing out before anything else can happen!" He shouted as he watched the Legendary Trainer's Pokemon warily. He really should have known better but he had learned his lesson and would not underestimate this Pokemon again. "Use a dragon tail!"

Turtonator quickly moved and spun his body in a rapid spin, tail glowing in a savage purple color as it moved towards the other Pokemon. Bulbasaur watched with interest as the other moved closer, but kept calm as wines extended from its form.

Kiawe could only watch in disbelief as the Bulbasaur avoided the attack by lifting its entire body up into the air using Vine whip. "You have got to be kidding me!" He shouted in frustration.

Ash watched in amusement as his Bulbasaur put the fire type trainer through his paces. His attention soon turned towards the water type Pokemon, watching as his Fire type Pokemon just stood his ground as the little water type spat bubbles at him.

"None of my attacks are doing anything to it." Lana huffed as the latest bubble beam was just popped one bubble at a time by the fire type's claws. "I've never even seen a fire type do that before! Kiawe's always just dodges out of the way!" She grumbled before tilting her head to the side in thought. "Popplio! Make a big bubble!" She ordered.

Charizard blinked at this rather strange order but waited patiently with interest. Soon the Charizard could only blink in awe as a large bubble about the size of himself formed. It was an obvious amount of water and it leaned forward to view itself in the reflection, showing no fear at all to the attack.

"Why isn't it scared?" Lana questioned before nodding at her Popplio. "Do it!" She ordered and watched in satisfaction as the bubble popped all over the fire type, soaking it. Lana watched the Charizard blink in surprise, a clawed hand held up to where the bubble had once been. It had obviously been about to pop the bubble itself.

She giggled at the stunned look before looking at the Fire type, frowning as she realized that it was steaming lightly. There was no water on it, only steam. "You've heated your body to high temperatures so that water attacks won't do anything." She pouted at the realization. "That's not very fair at all."

Charizard huffed out a breath of flame before chuckling. He settled back on the ground and awaited to see what the little water type trainer would do next. Though he knew that it wouldn't be as entertaining as the giant bubble. He was a little sad that he couldn't pop it though. That would have been very amusing.

Lana frowned before looking over to where the little pond that the school had for water types was. She could use that to her advantage. "Popplio! Get to the water, come on we'll have an advantage."

With that she took off for the water with her water type right next to her. Charizard huffed before spreading his wings and taking to the sky. He followed the pair over to the pond, watching as the little seal like Pokemon jumped into the water and swam around. He huffed in slight irritation but otherwise impressed with the move.

It wasn't that he couldn't take on the water type even in its element, but it would've been harder for other fire or ground type Pokemon to take it on. The little one was in its element and could control the pace of the battle if it was against an inexperienced trainer. Good thing he was one of the most experienced and strongest Pokemon on his trainer's team.

With that in mind, he roared and dove at the water, startling the water trainer. His wings glowed brightly as he used steel wing against the water, sending a large wave up into the air.

Along with the water type Pokemon.

"No! Popplio!" Lana yelled in worry as she watched her Pokemon fall into the water safely, only to yell in worry as it was sent up into the air once more.

Ash was highly amused at his fire type's antics but soon turned towards the grass type trainer, wondering how his cook would handle the electric type Pokemon.

"You're so adorable." Mallow said with a smile on her face. Pikachu preened under the praise but was ready to move at a moment's notice. "Alright Bounsweet, we need to take this cutie down." She exclaimed as she released her Pokemon onto the field with a smile on her face.

"Alright, use sweet scent." Soon the smell of something sweet swamped the electric type. Pikachu sniffed at it but otherwise didn't move. He kept his eyes on the little grass type with calculating eyes. "Alright, move into rapid spin and hit that mouse!"

The little grass type spun rapidly and sped towards Pikachu, only to squeal in disappointment as the electric type sidestepped the attack. "Boo. Try again Bounsweet, then move into teeter dance!"

Pikachu watched with a tilted head as the Bounsweet moved towards him again. Only instead of dodging this time, he moved his tail in front of him and allowed it to turn to steel. Once the Bounsweet was close enough, he angled the tail enough to send the grass type up into the air, where it struggled to gain equilibrium.

"No! Hey! Use Razor leaf to slow down your fall!" She shouted hurriedly. She watched while holding her breath, hoping that this plan would work. The razor leaf slammed into the ground and soon created a pile of leaves that Bounsweet bounced off of and back onto the ground. "Yes! Now use Teeter dance!"

Pikachu could only watch in amusement as the little grass type danced around, trying to get its dance to work on him. Only that it wasn't working and he just sat there watching the show. Mallow pouted at the Pikachu before sighing and concentrating. She needed to figure out how to lay a single attack on this mouse.

She should have known how hard it would have been to face the Mt. Silver trainer's Pokemon.

Sophocles looked at the otter like Pokemon with a tilted head, a computer screen in front of him as he did some research on the Pokemon. "Dewott originates from Unova and is a water type. Those shells can act as swords for it to use as weapons." He grumbled as he went over the attack list before looking down at his patient Pokemon. "We'll need a plan of attack, but I'm sure we can figure this out." He stated happily.

Dewott on the other hand yawned as he looked at the little electric type rodent. He had battled against Pikachu so many times at this point that he doubted that this one could do any real damage. After all, Pikachu had the strongest Thunder attack he had ever felt in his life and could critically damage him if not completely knock him out cold. This little thing wasn't even a threat.

He would let it know it as well by awaiting its first attack.

"Alright then. Togedemaru, use Thunder wave." The electric trainer commanded, waiting in excitement for the waiting plan to unfold. He needed to be able to immobilize the clearly more agile Pokemon and then attack with all the super effective moves in his set. This would include his Zing Zap that Togedemaru was known for in its species. It would be used to full power as soon as they were ready.

With that in mind, he watched as the Thunder wave was released towards the Dewott, waiting in anticipation for the status attack to take effect.

Only to watch in confusion as the Dewott didn't react at all to the electricity surging all over its body, as if it was immune to the attack. "What the heck is that?" He mumbled to himself before shaking his head. He had to follow his plan. There was no other choice at this point but to follow through. "Alright Togedemaru! Use Zing Zap!" He called out.

The little electric type chirped and spun rapidly as the power built up. Dewott watched the little rodent spin rapidly, wondering what this move would do. He hadn't seen anything like this before. He had been up against Rollout and rapid spin, but this move seemed to be building electricity up for a powerful attack. He would have to be careful and not take any chances. He knew how painful electric type attacks could be thanks to Pikachu, that smug rat.

He huffed at that thought as he pulled his shells off from his thighs and concentrated on sending his energy through them. He was normally used to using only one shell, but he had adjusted pretty quickly. Though he still had slight concentration problems when something distracted him from his goal.

But here he was ready. His eyes were glued to the sparkly ball and waited for it to come.

Which it did.

Fast.

Much faster than he expected.

Dewott squeaked to himself as he used his Shell Blades to redirect the attack to the side where the little electric mouse slammed into the ground with a look of disbelief. Dewott smirked at it, hiding the fact that it was slightly surprised. He hadn't come across an attack like that before and he knew that he'd have to tell the others about it so that they were all prepared for the future. Even though it still slightly surprised and shaken him a little, he knew he could handle this. There was no way he was going to fall to that little electric mouse at this point.

"Come on! That should've worked!" Sophocles exclaimed before turning back to his computer to try and come up with another strategy.

Dewott scowled at the lack of attention before snarling and launching himself at the electric type, water surrounding his body as he flew into an aqua jet with his eyes wide open. "Oh no! Togedemaru! Get back up!" The electric trainer exclaimed as his partner was sent flying backwards to land in front of him.

Ash could only shake his head at his little otter Pokemon before turning towards the final field that held what he would consider his most challenging task yet.

Lillie stood in the middle of the field with Leavanny right in front of her. The Nurturing Pokemon smiling calmly at the blonde as it waited.

Lillie looked at the bug type with wide eyes, her body turned slightly away from it so that she could run if she needed to. That ever present fear prickling at the back of her mind as she tried to push past her fear.

She knew that Leavanny wouldn't hurt her, the bug type was more of a mother hen than her own mother could ever hope to be. So she knew that she wasn't in danger intellectually, but instinctually she felt like she was about to be chopped to itty bitty bits.

Arceus she wanted to run. She didn't want to be here to face this Pokemon or to try and face any Pokemon. There was just no way this was going to work to her advantage. She should just quit and go home to where it was safe.

There were Pokemon there too, but they stayed outside where they couldn't touch her and could harm her or even look at her. She was safe inside of her home.

Here though, she was face to face with this bug type Pokemon that just stood there with its arms crossed in front of it, the sharp points turned away from her. It wasn't moving towards her and it was backing away. No noise either. It just stood there demurely and waited for Lillie to make the first move.

She really didn't though. She knew exactly what the newest teacher wanted from her, just like all of her psychiatrists and psychologists and all the other doctors her mother had hired wanted. She couldn't though, there was no way she was going to be able to touch this Pokemon at all.

The Leavanny stared at the girl in front of her. She knew that this child was terrified and that she didn't want to touch the Nurturing Pokemon. That was okay though. That wasn't what her trainer wanted her to do right now. That would only make it so much harder to heal her later.

So she had to come up with a plan to allow this child to realize that Leavanny had no intention of touching her. She would make sure of it as well. But she had to come up with a way to do it first. She looked the child over intently, keeping her long claw like arms away from the child as she thought over a plan.

She couldn't touch the child, which was okay, she could work around that. She looked at the pure white dress the child wore, the pure white hat that went along with it. It was such a pure color that held no color at all. It went well with the light blonde hair the child sported and complimented her sky blue eyes.

She blinked to herself as she came up with an idea. The child obviously enjoyed fashion as the dress she wore was rather stylish. She could make something that would go with that colorless outfit and give it a splash of life.

With that in mind, she quickly took off into the forest that was surrounding the school, ignoring the squeak from the girl. She figured that this would help begin forming the bond her trainer wanted her to have with this child. It would be fun for Leavanny as well and put her nurturing skills to the test. Not to mention her sewing capabilities.

Lillie watched the forest with wide eyes, wondering why the Pokemon had taken off in such a hurry. She hadn't known that the bug type could move so fast that in one blink it had been there and then gone in the next.

She stood there and fidgeted, wondering if she could leave or if she was to wait there. She looked oved to where the Mt. Silver Trainer was standing and watching them all, his dark red eyes watching her with such intensity that she had to look away.

Only to screech when Leavanny reappeared in her peripheral vision, dropping flowers, leaves, and vines onto the floor. She held her hands to her chest as she tried to convince her heart to calm down, trying to figure out what the Pokemon was planning to do.

Leavanny ignored how Lillie watched her with wide terrified eyes. Instead she grabbed the vines and held them up to Lillie's shoulders before looking at the girl and widening her arms. It took several times of repeating the motion before the girl did as she wanted. She quickly measured the vines against her arms and then along her sides and across her chest and stomach. She quickly cut the vines into the lengths that she wanted before piecing her master piece together.

Lillie could only watched in amazement as the Leavanny began to create what she quickly recognized.

It wasn't a shirt or dress or even a cape, though it was similar to the last item. No, this was much better and much more different than anything she had ever seen.

The colorful piece was soon held up to Lillie, who accepted it gently with wide eyes. She gulped as the Leavanny slowly mimed to her how to put it on. She quickly mimicked the movements and soon the newly created _wings_.

Vines were slipped onto her arms and shoulders to hold it all onto her while the leaves cloaked her chest and sides, almost like armor, while the flowers were used to create beautiful and colorful wings that fell from her shoulders and arms. When she opened her arms out wide, the wings would open wide out with her arms. The wings themselves fell down to her calves.

It was beautiful and she loved it so very much.

"OH my gosh! This is great!" She exclaimed as she waved her arms up and down, causing the wings to fly up into the air. She twirled around and made the wings spin with her. "I love it! Thank you so much Leavanny!" She said as she gave the bug type a wide grin on her face.

Leavanny smiled back at her and brought her limbs together in a clapping motion. "Leav! Vanny ny van Leavanny!" she exclaimed back to the child. She was glad that she enjoyed her gift. She hoped this would be a gateway for them to begin getting to know each other.

"I can't wait to show the others! They'll be so shocked to see something so beautiful! You're so talented Leavanny! I didn't even know that you could make something like this!" Lillie rambled as she continued to twirl. She just loved how the colors of the flowers flowed with the movement and the breeze. She couldn't wait to show James it. Maybe they could come up with a way to save the wings and keep them from wilting. James was really good with the garden so he might have a way to preserve the wings so she could keep them.

Ash smiled down at the two, knowing that he had made the right choice in bring the Nurturing Pokemon with him to the school. He hadn't really put too much thought into what Pokemon he was going to bring that day, at least, not at first. He figured most any of his Pokemon would be fine, but then he got to thinking harder about it after facing that one Pokemon.

A school filled with children that were just starting with their first Pokemon. Their first Pokemon.

That had made him bring the first team he had, at least what was left of them. Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charizard. Dewott was his next choice because he was one of the weaker ones of his Pokemon and needed some more experience in his new form. Leavanny was a natural choice after that as she was the Nurturing Pokemon. She could help raise these kids rather easily if she wanted to.

But now he had found another way for the bug type to help out in this class. Or, help out a certain girl at least. He smirked to himself as a plan came to mind and he fingered the ball that belonged to Leavanny. He knew exactly what he would do but he would wait and allow these kids to face those Pokemon for a while more.

Kiawe was still trying to land a hit on Bulbasaur, getting more and more frustrated as he and his Pokemon failed to do so.

Mallow was laughing as Pikachu tickled her little grass type. The little thing giggle madly as the electric type used his tail and paws to rub at the sensitive areas to elicit the reactions.

Sophocles was muttering to himself as he looked at his little computer, his electric type trying to dodge all of Dewott's attacks. He would yell out a command now and then but his attention stayed on the screen as his mind tried to work out a plan.

Lana was now in the water with her Popplio and the two of them were busy trying to splash Charizard. The fire type didn't seem to mind as he would use his steel wings to send a wave at the two and completely send them swirling around the water. Lana would just laugh as Popplio barked excitedly.

Lillie and Leavanny were settled on the ground, Lillie running her hands excitedly over the cape and talking to a patiently listening bug type.

He watched all of them for a long time before snapping his fingers.

Instantly all of his Pokemon took off from the children and ran towards him, taking positions all around him. Pikachu landed on his shoulder, Dewott on his right, Squirtle on his left, Bulbasaur directly in front, Charizard directly behind, and Leavanny at Charizard's right. He was sure they made an impressive sight as all the kids turned to him with wide eyes and mouths.

He raised a brow before pointing towards the building and where the classroom was positioned. He made his point and recalled each of his Pokemon back into their ball before disappearing into the building.

TMS

"Oh my Arceus! That Bulbasaur was ridiculous!" Kiawe shouted in frustration. "I couldn't land a single hit on it! Not one! Turtonator took all of the damage from a grass type! A type he's supposed to be strong against!"

"Yeah, same here." Sophocles said with a grumble. "That Dewott owned us and I have a feeling that it wasn't even going full powered against us either."

"Well we had a whole lot of fun!" Lana exclaimed as she carried Popplio in her arms, dripping wet from head and toe. "That Charizard knows how to really have a water war!"

"Bounsweet got tickled so much that she passed out!" Mallow exclaimed in her own laughter. "I didn't even know that that could happen during a battle!"

"Leavanny was really nice." Lillie said with a smile, opening her arms to show the cape once more. "She made me this and let me talk as much as I wanted." Not very many Pokemon would listen to her and not try and touch her. Most wanted to be petted and stroked, all of which she couldn't do. It was a nice change of pace.

"That's so cool!" Mallow said with a smile. "Maybe this can be the first step of getting over your fear! Just making a connection with a Pokemon."

Lillie paused at that, wondering if that could really be a first step. It sounded really simple but she felt like it was too simple. Could taking such a simple step really be effective? "I don't know." She muttered.

"Well, we'll find out, together!" Lana said as she grabbed the blonde haired girl's hand and Mallow grabbed the other.

"Yeah, together!" The green haired girl agreed enthusiastically. "We'll be with you every step of the way."

Lillie looked at the two girls before looking at the two smiling boys. They both nodded their head in agreement and that made her smile. "Okay! It'll be my first step." With that they walked back to the classroom.

Where Ash was standing at the front of the classroom with Kukui next to him and Leavanny on the other side. All three watched the students taking their seats, Lillie taking the cape off and folding it nicely so it wouldn't be ruined.

Once they were all seated and paying attention, Kukui smirked at them and removed the projector screen from in front of the blackboard to reveal a mass of writing.

All of their names were on the board and next to their names were critiques.

Very harsh critiques.

TMS

A.N. Alright. Here's the next chapter. I know that this isn't exactly exciting but there's a reason for that. I have to set up the plot for this part of the story and that's going to take some time and for that to happen, some things have to happen. So sorry. Anyways, this chapter is going to be dedicated to **multyfangirl20**.I normally don't do this but I felt like this Messenger deserved this because they were rather polite when asking me about when I would be updating and if I could do it within the month or next over. So here ya go! Hope ya enjoyed! Review!

Also, I know that I used attacks that some of the Pokemon haven't used in the anime or in the games here. I chose to add in some attacks cause it just makes sense to me, so I'm sorry if you don't like that, but I need them to have those attacks for later. So no flaming on me for that. Otherwise, review and let me know what you all thought about this chapter. I can't wait to hear from you all!


	13. Bringing Elegance to the School

Chapter Twelve

Bringing Elegance to the School

"Wow! I can't believe we're here!"

"I know, right! Oh I can't wait to just bathe in the sun on the beautiful beaches here!"

"I can't wait either! Oh my Arceus this is going to be great!"

"Oh come on you two! You have to actually leave the plane to go to those beaches."

"Be quiet Max and let us enjoy ourselves!" May screamed at her little brother in irritation.

"Oh, don't be worried about him May, we should really get off the plane before it gets backed up anyways." Dawn laughs uneasily as the two siblings glare at each other over her shoulder.

"Alright, let's go then." The older girl agreed as she starts walking down the ramp with the other two behind her. "We still have to go and find Professor Kukui first anyways. I hear he's supposed to be at the Pokemon School at this time."

"Luckily for me I have my PokeNav so we'll be able to get there without getting lost…again." Max rolled his eyes at the memories of always getting lost with May and any one of her friends. Especially when Ash and Brock had been involved. Those days had been nightmares.

"Then lead the way!" May exclaimed as she dramatically waved her hand in front of her for her brother to take the lead.

"I will." He agreed as he took the lead, looking at his map along the way while the two girls giggled behind him along the way.

TMS

 _Kiawe- You are a strong trainer. Fierce and quick to attack. You lack observational skills though and often miss moves that another Pokemon makes and leaves your own open to retaliation from tricks. Status attacks are easily gotten through your defenses due to this. You are quick to attack but also impulsive because of this and not always thinking through your moves. You waste energy and power on moves that are useless. You also underestimate your opponents often, leaving you unprepared for their actual strength. A costly mistake that'll have you out of a battle quickly and made a fool of._

 _Sophocles- You are smart and several of your strategies are sound and strong. Though you take too long to put it together and rely too much on your equipment. You waste time going over information on your gadgets, which leave your Pokemon vulnerable and at the mercy of your opponent. Most battles won't allow you time to try and come up on a plan using your technology and so needs an instinctual ability to react on the spot._

 _Mallow- You are creative and able to use status moves in a battle affectively. You are also creative in ways of avoiding unnecessary damage to your Pokemon. Though this is handy, you have a tendency to repeat these moves even though you know they weren't affective. You waste energy in this way and then leave your Pokemon vulnerable as they tire from using up that energy. You also get detracted from a battle when a Pokemon uses tricks, such as tickling, to subdue your Pokemon. Such a loss of focus could mean your Pokemon will be completely subdued before you realize it._

 _Lana- You were creative in your battle and when you realized one why didn't work, you switched tactics. You played to your strengths and understood when those were not enough and instead tried to work around it. You paid attention to what was going on around you and had no problem with moving with your Pokemon when needed. You didn't take the battle fully serious and left many openings with some of the tactics you called out, though you knew the risks that came with them. You got distracted in the middle of the battle and it ended up as a game for all participants. When a trainer becomes involved in the battle, they forfeit and lose._

 _Lily- You have a fear of Pokemon. There is no quick cure for a situation such as this as it is debilitating. We will have you work with a trustworthy Pokemon that will move at a pace that you are comfortable with. You will be around it often and hopefully familiarity will help you with being able to touch it a little bit at a time._

They all read the criticisms in all sorts of manners.

Kiawe's face had gone slack at the harshness of his own even as it gained a tint of red at the anger. Even as he understood the words, he didn't agree with them, and he hated that he had to look at them. He eventually closes his mouth and begins to brood, looking away from the board.

Sophocles sat with his eyes narrowed at the bored as he read the words to himself over and over again. It was obvious he was taking in the words and analyzing them. He didn't show any real reaction to the criticism and just continued to go over the words.

Mallow just pouted and nodded her head in understanding. She hated that she had fallen to repeating herself but she knew that this would help in the long way in making her a better trainer and a better friend to her Pokemon.

Lana smiles and laughs. It was apparent she understood and agreed with the words as well. She knew that she had forfeited the battle as soon as she and Popplio began to play with the Charizard instead of fight against it. Though she didn't see the hard since it hadn't been an official battle.

Lily was pale as she read over the information given to her. She had known that eventually she would have to try and get over her illness and move forward, but it had always seemed like a so far away goal. Like becoming an adult and getting married. Something that would happen but would take forever to happen. She just hoped that whatever Pokemon was chosen wouldn't end up making things worse.

"Whoa." Kukui said as he looked at the bored before nodding his head. He turned to look at his students with a sympathetic smile on his face, knowing that these words would affect them greatly. "I know that these seem harsh and unfair," he looks at the steaming fire type trainer with a raised brow, "but they hold ways for you to improve. They show where you are the weakest at and where you can make yourself better. Do not throw them away due to anger or disagreement."

"But that's not completely fair!" Kiawe spoke up as he looked at his teacher. "I know that I'm hot tempered and I can get over excited, but can't I use that in my battling style?" he questioned.

Ash stepped forward here and looked to Mellow, knowing the girl would help him out here. And as expected, as he began to move his hands, her eyes latched onto them and she spoke them aloud for her classmate.

 _"I never said you couldn't. That isn't the point. The point is that you let it control you and you make obvious mistakes that can be averted if you use that passion in a concentrated effort. Learn to control yourself and your actions and you'll be unstoppable."_

"That sounds like good advice to me." Kukui grinned at the young man before turning back to his student. "I know it's harsh and it sounds unfair, but the advice is wise. Take and think it over Kiawe, it'll help you in the long run."

The student huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. He wasn't in the mood to think too much on what was being said to him, still too angry about what had been said about him. That man didn't know him, didn't know what he did, how he sacrificed for his family, and ran as many chores as he could for his mom. Flying and battling were the only releases he had for the stress.

Ash watched him the boy and knew he would have to get to know him more about the boy to get him to let him help. That would take time though and some more background information on him as well. He'd have to wait and see what he could find and survive until then.

He shook his head before turning and looking at the professor. He wanted to know if he could continue as what he needed to inform the rest of them was rather important. Kukui nodded his head in affirmative that they could definitely continue on.

He looked back at Mallow and moved his hands and she spoke for him once more.

 _"Because you all need to improve in one way, we will continue to have these battles every day and you will be told the weaknesses that you must work on. This will be a daily exercise and you'll be graded on whether you improve or not."  
_

"You can't be serious!" Sophocles exclaimed in surprise. "You can't seriously let him do that?" He turned to Professor Kukui in a panic.

Lana and Mallow just squealed in excitement. "Does that mean we get to fight against more of your Pokemon?" Lana questioned as she thought about all the fun she had had with the Charizard.

"Yeah! I wanna face off against that adorable Dewott Sophocles faced against today!" Mallow exclaimed happily.

Ash could only raise a brow at the girl before shaking his head and turning back to Kukui. I ignored the glare that was sent his way by the dark skinned kid, knowing that he wasn't happy with the declaration.

"Yes, well, that'll be it for the day you guys." Kukui said with a soft smile. "I want you all to remember what Ash told you and to take it to improve yourself. I also want you guys to go over all of your move sets with your Pokemon and decide which ones you'll want to use tomorrow. If you don't have more Pokemon, than maybe you should think about catching more."

The kids all nodded their heads in understanding before getting up and leaving. "Hey! Do you guys wanna come to the restaurant and plan out some new ideas for tomorrow?" Mallow questioned excitedly.

"Sure, maybe you can show me how to use stat moves." Lana said as she skipped.

"How do you react on instinct?" Sophocles questioned as he held his chin with his fingers. "I don't really understand how I'm supposed to do that." He admitted as he looked down to where all of his equipment laid in his bag.

"We'll show you how." Lana assured. "Though it's different for everyone so we can guarantee our ways will work the same for you."

"That's right. Everyone's instincts are all different. I think the one with the best are actually Kiawe and Lana. They just seem to move without thinking most of the time." Mallow explained.

Kiawe nodded his head in agreement even though he said nothing. He was still fuming over the critics.

Lily smiled at her friends and moved to follow them but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the face of the Legendary Trainer. "Um…yes?" She questioned as she looked at him nervously, clutching her bag to her chest tightly.

"I believe he explained about the Pokemon he was going to give you to get used to." Kukui explained with a gentle smile. "I think he already has the perfect Pokemon picked out."

"Oh." Lily said softly as she tilted her head away from the man. She wasn't sure how to feel about this and she was sure that she was going to flip out no matter the Pokemon. So why would he make her do this if he understood the condition she suffered from.

The hand gave a gentle squeeze and she looked up once more, looking at a simple Pokeball in the palm of his other hand. She looked up and saw his eyes flicker to the ball and then back to her.

Lily gulped as she moved a hand towards the ball, but froze when her finger touched the outside gently. She couldn't do this. There was a Pokemon inside and it was going to come out and hurt her. She couldn't take it.

She quickly shook her head and backed away, clutching her eyes closed and the back tighter to her chest.

Ash sighed at this but shook his head at Kukui. He needed to get her started somewhere, so he released the Pokemon inside, startling the girl into looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

She blinked as a familiar Bug Type smiled at her, holding out a simple Pokeball in between its pincers. "Lea…vanny." Lily whispered before looking back to Ash. The young man was blanked face as he looked at her, dull crimson eyes giving nothing away.

She looked back to Leavanny and smiled unsurely as she reached out with both of her hands and took the Pokeball into them, careful not to touch the Pokemon. "Are you sure you want to come with me?" She questioned quietly as she met the Pokemon's eyes.

The bug type smiled and nodded its head firmly. It would go with this little girl and watch out for her and get her to trust it. That is what her trainer wished for and it would make sure that it would happen, no matter how long it took.

Lily nodded her head as she clutched the Pokeball close to her chest. "I'll take good care of your Pokemon!" She exclaimed and bowed to the older trainer.

Ash just nodded his head and then waved her away, turning to Professor Kukui who was erasing the chalk board.

Lily gulped but turned and walked out of the classroom with the Leavanny at her side. Maybe she could do this after all…even if it took a very long time to happen.

TMS

"So that was a fun day." Kukui said with a laugh as he looked out over the schoolyard. It was only midday as he had released his students just before lunch. He knew that they would need the time to take in the advice, some longer than others. "What should we do now?"

Ash shrugged his shoulders as he watched the gates, fingering the Pokeballs on his belt. He had had Charizard fly back to the house and switched out his Pokemon. He had needed to get some that were going to be used here in just a few moments. His eyes never left the gate even as Kukui began to speak about future classes and the schedule he had made up with all of Ash's own ideas interspersed among them.

He eyes narrowed though when he saw three figures walk through the gate, all three talking to each other.

He recognized them, of course he did, but at the same time he didn't. There was something there that was missing and was blocking most of what he knew away from him. A block that had been partially destroyed when he had held that solid Heal Pulse in his hands a while back.

His memories were coming back but it was slow and sometimes he needed a kick start to them.

Which was what he was going to need to remember what those three had to do with him. His eyes though landed on the male of the group. A boy who looked around the age of thirteen. His had black hair swept back out of his face and thick black framed glasses. He wore a green tank top with a black vest and long brown pants. A yellow backpack was slung over his shoulder and the strap wrapped around his chest.

Both girls was older than the boy, the oldest and tallest had brown hair that trailed around her face but was kept short at the back. A blue bandana held most of her hair out of her face and she wore a blue long sleeved shirt with a white skirt and black shorts underneath. She wore white gloves with black fingers and her own red bag was slung over a shoulder with the strap wrapped around her chest.

The second girl had long blue hair in a braid that wrapped around her head in a crown. She wore a white short sleeved shirt that had lacy ends to it and a pink skirt and pink boots. Her own green backpack had two straps that sat correctly on her shoulders and she was giggling with the brown haired girl.

He didn't bother informing the professor and just swiftly jumped over the railing of the school, ignoring the shout of concern from the older man. He rolled with his landing, taking no damage and coming into a standing positon so that he was now walking towards the group of three.

The boy was the first to notice him and stopped to watch him. It was obvious that he was wary already, unsure of what Ash's intentions would be. "Hey there!" The girl with the brown hair called as she noticed him next. "Can you help us find Professor Kukui? We're supposed to meet him so that he can take us to meet up with Professor Oak." She explained quickly and cheerfully.

Ash ignored it as he looked at the boy. IT was obvious he was the more battle ready one as he stiffened as he pulled out a Pokeball and threw it.

He could only smirk as the form of his Torkoal took form. The fire type yawned before puffing out a cloud of black smoke at the group.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" The blue haired one said in surprise. "We aren't here to fight. We're here to see the professor."

"Oh dear." A voice said from behind Ash. He already knew that Professor Oak would have come out after Kukui shouted. No doubt his mother and Gary were there with the professors now as well. "It seems that he wants to battle one of you." The professor explained.

"Oh Professor!" the girls shouted as they ran over to the man.

The boy didn't move an inch.

"So, are you going to accept the challenge Max?" Gary, that was Gary for sure. No one else could sound as cocky and condescending at the same time like Gary could. "He'll stand there and wait otherwise."

Max finally drew a Pokeball from his belt with a smirk on his face. "Sure, why not." He agreed as he threw his Pokeball. "You going to referee the battle for us?"

He heard the sound of walking and then Gary was there standing in between them. "Sure, why not." He agreed as the form of Walrein appeared. "Alright then, the battle between Max of Petalberg City and the Trainer of Mt. Silver shall now begin!" He announced, ignoring the surprised exclamations of the girls and boy.

Max stared at the other for a long moment before his eyes steeled and his stance became strong. "Alright then Walrein, we'll have to be careful with this one." He stated before calling out a move even as the Torkoal yawned once more, more smoke expelling from its nostrils as it did. "Use Powder Snow to ice the field." He commanded and watched as the Ice Break Pokemon did as told and sent a great big puff of powder snow at the ground, watching spread around both Pokemon into an icy terrain. "Great, now use that to move around and get more speed into your Body Slam!"

The teen watched with anticipation as the water type Pokemon sent itself skidding across the ground, gaining speed that allowed it to hit even harder against the fire type.

Only to blink in horror as his Pokemon cried out in pain and steam wafted off of it. "What just happened?! Walrein!" He cried out in horror as his Pokemon fainted straight up.

"That would be a Heat Wave." Gary explained as he called it. "A very concentrated area was heated by Torkoal in preparation for you Pokemon's move. You fell right into his trap."

Ash said nothing as he recalled his Pokemon at the same time Max did and released his next choice. "Corphish!" The Pokemon cried out as he appeared in front of the boy.

"Max! Forefit! You can't win against him!" the brown haired girl cried out. "Your Pokemon are only going to get hurt at this rate."  
"Oh don't worry May." Professor Oak assured the girl. "Max and his Pokemon will be just fine."

"But Professor, that's the legendary trainer!" The blue haired girl cried out next. "He's taken down so many powerful trainers in the past with just a Pikachu! Max doesn't stand a chance."

"Then this can be a learning experience for him dear." His mother. She sounded calm and relaxed, most likely having enjoyed her time visiting the principal and getting out of the house. "This will help him become stronger."

"She's right Dawn. Max will have learned something from this just like all the other trainers before him have."

"But…"

"May, just be quiet and watch." Max called out as he looked at the water type carefully. Something was off about this in some way. Not only because the Trainer of Mt. Silver wasn't on the mountain but on a tropical island with Gary and Professor Oak, but Delia Ketchum here as well. Last he had heard she had been admitted to the hospital due to starving herself and almost dying. But she was here now in a wheelchair and looking better than he thought she would have.

Now there was this trainer with a Corphish, one that was supposedly only supposed to use an overpowered Pikachu, and he was battling against him. It was a strange occurrence and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"You going to pick a new Pokemon or not?" Gary drawled out with a raised brow.

Max huffed but obliged as he released his next Pokemon. "Alright Grovyle, I know it doesn't look like much, but don't underestimate that Corphish. Something's off about it." He informed his starter Pokemon.

"Grov." Was the reply as the Pokemon stuck a piece of grass in its mouth and watched the water type with narrowed eyes.

The Corphish just looked at the grass type dully before tilting its head to the side. "Cor?" It questioned before shaking its head. "Phish, cor cor phish phish cor phish." It stated before tapping one of its claws against the ground.

Grovyle's face turned red at this and it growled at the other. The leaves on its arms glowed a bright green before elongating. "Grovyle!" It shouted as it dashed forward in anger.

"Wait! Grovyle! Stop don't attack yet!" Max called out to his Pokemon but it ignored him and leapt at the other Pokemon.

Corphish wasted no time as it dodged the attacks. Leaping backwards or sidestepping or even just move forward before the blades could touch it. It laughed at the grass type at each miss, knowing it would just enrage it even more.

Grovyle didn't even care that it was being toyed with, just angry that it was being mocked. He was going to make this water type regret ever facing off against him, the type that was strongest against the stupid little thing.

With that thought in mind it slammed a foot forward into the ground, causing the Earth to shake and little roots to begin to form. Corphish looked stunned for a moment and that was all the time the Wood Gecko needed to slam a blade into its face.

Only to stare in horror as Ruffian held firm and continued to just stare at it like nothing had happened.

But then everything went black when a white glowing claw slammed into Grovyle's head.

"No! Grovyle!" Max shouted as he ran over to his Pokemon to look it over, only to sigh in relief when he realized that his Pokemon was only knocked unconscious. "You should have listened to me." He muttered as he recalled the Pokemon. The Corphish disappeared in a flash of light before another Pokemon appeared in front of the boy.

Max grimaced as he recognized the bug type. He pulled the next ball and threw it, releasing his Bite Pokemon. "We have to be careful, this thing is powerful!" He informed his Pokemon and the bark of understanding calmed him slightly. It didn't stop the sweat from falling from his forehead or from his hands shaking in both anticipation and fear for his Pokemon. He really didn't like the situation they were in at the moment at all.

"Why is this guy so powerful?" Dawn wondered as she watched the Mightyena leap from side to side as quickly as possible, trying to figure out a weak point of the bug type. The Heracross though just watched it do so, not moving but its eyes always seemed to be on the dark type no matter where it moved.

"Because he trained for years on Mt. Silver." Professor Oak explained.

"It's supposedly one of the harshest conditions to ever be." Kukui added on. "Even harsher than our own snowy mountain, which anyone can get up to now with the lift. The snow up there isn't even that bad compared to the stories I've heard about Mt. Silver."

"He trained up there!" May cried out in horror as she watched her brother's Mightyena land a bite.

And then it lit up like Christmas lights, the thunder coursing through Heracross at insane speeds. But the bug type didn't even flinch. It just stood there and stared at the Mightyena like it was boring, like a side show that didn't live up to its reputation.

They could only watch as the Heracross swung the arm that had the Bite Pokemon embedded at the moment up, Mightyena's body following the motion, and then slamming it down harshly.

Max cried out for his Pokemon as it hit the ground hard, the whine telling him that it had definitely hurt. "Mightyena! Can you stand up?" He called out to his Pokemon and waited. "Mightyena?"

"Your Pokemon is out cold." Gary informed with a smirk.

Max gritted his teeth as he recalled his Pokemon and the other trainer did the same with his own. And then he watched as an ice type appeared on the field. "A Glalie." Max muttered as he went over the Pokemon that he had left. None of them were really a good match for the ice type but he figured that his normal type might stand a chance. "Alright Vigoroth, let's go!" He threw the ball out and watched as the Normal Type roared out in excitement. It had been a little bit since it had been challenged after all.

Gary looked at the Vigoroth, taking in the fact that the normally tan fur was a dull yellow and the red hair piece was now a bright orange. It was obviously a shiny Pokemon and he wondered how long it had taken the boy to find and catch it. "Nice looking Pokemon there kid." He complemented.

"Thanks." Max grunted out as he kept his focus on his opponent. "Use Gunk Shot! Aim for its eyes!" He commanded and watched as his Wild Monkey gathered a dark purple ball of gunk in its claws and then shot it forward at the Glalie.

It landed smack dab in those right blue eyes but the Pokemon didn't blink and instead twirled like it was a top. Max watched with a hanging mouth as the poison slid off of the Pokemon's body like it was water. "Use uproar!" Max called out as he took the chance.

Vigoroth shot forward, roaring at an absurd level and its claws lashing out towards the ice type. Glalie just dodged out of the way, as if it did this every day and that this wasn't a challenge at all. And obviously his Pokemon really wasn't a challenge but that wouldn't stop Max from trying to land a hit at least.

"Use Fire punch!" The clawed appendage quickly caught fire as it slammed forward, but it was dodged again. Vigoroth didn't stop though and continued to attack forward with flaming fists, hoping to hit at least once. It hadn't ever lost this bad before and it didn't want to now. Not after everything he and Max had been through.

It roared as it's body glowed, focusing all of its energy inwards to up its strength. The flames on its fists lit up further and its speed increased.

It still wasn't enough. It still wasn't landing a single hit.

And then it felt teeth sink into a flaming fist as if it was nothing. "No!" Max shouted as he watched the fist turn into a black of ice and the flame go out. Vigoroth could only stare in surprise at this and was unable to stop when the entire body of the ice type slammed into it and sent it flying.

It came to a stop just in front of Max, out cold.

Max stared in horror for his Pokemon before shaking his head and recalling it. Vigoroth would be fine, it was a strong Pokemon and would recover from this just fine. They would use the information that they got from this battle to get stronger. It wouldn't stop them.

He watched as the Glalie was recalled and a new Pokemon was unleashed. "Why aren't you using that Pikachu?" He questioned and when the Legendary Trainer didn't answer, he turned towards Gary. It was obvious the other knew this overly powered Trainer so it would be easy to guess that he would be able to answer the question.

Gary smirked at the boy and just waved a hand in a 'hurry up' sign. Max scowled at that but looked at the Pokemon sitting on the ground, glaring at him. It was obvious that this Swellow was battle hardened, maybe even enjoyed battling, so being made to was not okay. Max huffed at the impatience before pulling out his next Pokemon.

"Alright Salamence, we need to take that bird down." Max stated as the Dragon roared at the smaller Pokemon. The Swallow Pokemon just rolled its eyes at the Dragon in annoyance before suddenly disappearing. Max and Salamence both looked around in a hurry, wondering where the flying type could have disappeared to.

It was a cough from Gary that caught their attention and his finger pointing upwards when they realized their mistake. The Swellow was flapping its wings right above them, making not a single noise before it tittered at them. It turned its back then and flew straight up into the sky.

"Follow it!" Max shouted. The giant Pokemon was soon airborne, the wings flapping heavily but quickly as they followed the bird around in the sky. "Use Dragon Breathe!" Max called out and watched as the attack was launched.

But the Swellow had no problem dodging the attack. It flew around it as if it were a stationary tree and it was a monkey. It moved swiftly, surely, and with agility. Salamence wasn't getting a single hit on it, not even a graze. There was no way they were going to be able to keep up at this rate. "Use Draco Meteor!" Maybe they could pinch it down somewhere instead. Corner it and then hit it full powered.

Salamence sent the ball of power straight up into the sky and then watched as it split up into a meteor shower. Max watched in amazement as the Swellow dodged each one, not a single meteor hit it once. It was so skilled in the sky that Max doubted they ever stood a chance in the great open blue.

He wasn't surprised when the Swellow disappeared, it had shown its speed already, but he was surprised when Salamence cried out in pain and dropped to the ground like a stone. "No!" Max shouted as he watched one of his strongest Pokemon hit the ground as if it was nothing but a sack of potatoes.

The Swallow Pokemon landed back on the ground puffed out its chest, obviously proud of its victory.

Max recalled his unconscious Pokemon and watched as the other recalled his own as well. He had only one Pokemon left and it was arguably his strongest one. He wandered if his friend was going to be able to stand against any Pokemon this guy had.

He watched as the older male raised a hand in the air and snapped his fingers. Max watched with wide eyes as a yellow mouse appeared on the other's shoulder and then leapt out into the middle of the battle field, staring at Max with a smile on its face.

"Alright old friend, let's do this." He threw his last Pokeball and watched as his Blade Pokemon appeared with its arms already in an attack position.

He watched the Pikachu tilt its head to the side before standing on its back legs and waving at the Gallade. "Pika pika chu pika chu pikapikachupi!" It exclaimed at the Psychic.

Gallade blinked in surprise before nodding its head at the other. "Gallade." It stated as its stance firmed and it prepared to attack.

"Use psychic and then going into stone edge!" Max could only hope that this worked, a signature attack of his that most couldn't avoid due to the speed of his Pokemon.

And just like always, just like they had since Max had returned to bring that Ralts on his journey with him, Gallade moved with a speed that would surprise just about anyone.

Except this Pikachu that dodged to the side with a little giggle and then was jumping up on top of the stone edge, moving along the attack and straight at his friend. "Gallade! MOVE!" He screamed for his friend to get out of the way.

Only to watch in horror as for the first time in a very long time, Gallade was too slow to get out of the way. They could only watch as the Pikachu engulfed itself in cloak of electricity and slammed into the Blade Pokemon.

A flash of light blinded them all and when they were finally able to see…

The Pikachu was sitting on Gallade's chest, as if it was its own personal chair.

TMS

A.N. Yay! More of Ash's friends are making an appearance. And I'm also very sorry that this has taken so long to get to you all! I've been really busy with school and work and getting things done at home. Not to mention trying to get all my Christmas shopping done early so that I don't have to worry about it later. Luckily for me I'm just down to all my homemade stuff now and that shouldn't take too long now…hopefully. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed and review to tell me what you thought! Until next time!


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